Ryan Shea

It was just a normal day at King Soopers in Boulder, Colorado, as many people took normal shopping trips. Suddenly, an armed assailant opened fire in the store, claiming the lives of 10 innocent people, and everybody was left in a panic as they evacuated the premises. Who are the identities of these 10 victims who tragically lost their lives that day, and how can we remember them in the way they deserve?

Following the incident, the Boulder Police Department investigated the crime scene, and have since identified the names of each victim as being Denny Strong, Kevin Mahoney, Lynn Murray, Suzanne Fountain, Neven Stanisic, Jody Waters, Tralona Bartkowiak, Teri Leiker, Rikki Olds, and Eric Talley, with three of the victims being in their early-to-mid 20s, and the rest ranging from age 49 to 65. A majority of the victims were store workers that had made a living working at King Soopers, but one of them, Suzanne Fountain, happened to be an award-winning actor in stage productions. Another, Eric Talley, who was, according to Boulder district attorney Michael Dougherty, “by all accounts one of the outstanding officers of the Boulder Police Department,” was one of the first police officers to pursue the assailant.  Clearly, these people were exemplary citizens who did not deserve their fate, but it is important to remember their legacy.

The simplest thing to do would be to acknowledge the victims by name. Remember them, even if we didn’t know them personally. One more direct way to remember them might be to assist their families in their times of grievance. Some families have set up GoFundMe pages to help set up a proper memorial ceremonies, to help them through their losses. All in all, the King Soopers shooting in Boulder was a tragedy, and although the victims are gone, they should certainly be remembered all across the country.