Boulder is still grieving.
City Council member Rachel Friend says several people are just starting treatment for depression a year after a gunman killed 10 people at a busy King Soopers grocery store.
“They’re linking it to the mass shooting,” she said last week on the eve of the first anniversary of the shooting. “Another person told me yesterday that for their own mental health they need to leave town next week (for the anniversary) and not be here, and you know, have the physical proximity to last year’s events at the anniversary.”
“A lot of people are still processing,” she added.
Boulder paid tribute to the victims at events around the city on Tuesday.
At the city’s police station, hundreds gathered to remember officer Eric Talley, who was killed after rushing into the store.
“There is no doubt that Eric’s selfless bravery, performed in the line of duty, saved dozens of lives,” Police Chief Maris Herold told the crowd. “Policing, now more than ever, needs people like Eric.”
At an event later in the day under the bandshell in downtown Boulder, a smaller crowd gathered for a tribute to all the victims.
Speakers included city officials, Gov. Jared Polis and U.S. Congressman Joe Neguse. They talked about the city’s resilience in the wake of the attack.
Others called for more limits on firearms and for more action in response to the shooting.
State Sen. Steve Fenberg, a Boulder Democrat, said last week shopping at the store does not feel the same.
“It is a heavy place to be in there even after the remodel,” he said. “But it really was a central kind of meeting place for that part of the community. So I think it’s important, and I hope that it will continue to play that kind of community building role.”
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