Man charged with 10 counts of murder following shooting in Colorado

23 March 2021, 18:11 | Updated: 23 March 2021, 20:54

A 21-year-old has been charged with 10 counts of murder in the first degree following a shooting at a supermarket in Colorado, USA.

The victims, aged between 20 and 65, were killed when a gunman opened fire on shoppers in the city of Boulder yesterday.

A 51-year-old police officer named Eric Talley was among the people to have died after the Colorado shooting.

Boulder police chief Maris Herold read out a list of victims.

Among those killed was Denny Strong, 20, Neven Stanisic, 23, Rikki Olds, 25, Tralona Bartkowiak, 49, Suzanne Fountain, 59, Teri Leiker, 51, Kevin Mahoney, 61, Lynn Murray, 62, and Jody Waters, 65.

The suspect has been identified as Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa from Arvada.

Mr Herold said the suspect was hospitalised and is in a stable condition. He will be transferred shortly to the county jail.

The police chief added: “I am so sorry this incident happened and we are going to do everything in our power to make sure this suspect has a thorough trial and we do a thorough investigation.”

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he would do everything possible to keep Americans safe following the latest mass shooting in Colorado.

"I don't need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common-sense steps that will save lives in the future," he said.

Mr Biden took the opportunity to urge Congress to tighten gun laws in response to the killings.

He called on the Senate to immediately take up two House-passed bills aimed at closing loopholes in the background-check system.

"This should not be a partisan issue," the president said.

Former president Barack Obama released a statement that called on "those with the power to fight this epidemic of gun violence to do so".

"A once-in-a-century pandemic cannot be the only thing that slows mass shootings in this country," Mr Obama’s statement said.