Loved Ones Share Stories Of Victims Killed In Colorado Shooting
Mar 24, 2021, 6:11 PM | Updated: 8:10 pm
BOULDER, Colo. – Hundreds of people lined the sides of a Boulder, Colorado, road to watch a procession and say goodbye to fallen Boulder police Officer Eric Talley.
He was one of 10 people shot and killed during Monday’s deadly shooting at a King Soopers supermarket.
Talley is being called a hero for running into the store to try and save lives.
“Really sad and upsetting,” resident Joey Valdez told KSL’s Dan Rascon, who is in Boulder covering the shooting. “We shouldn’t be here today for this — nobody wants this to happen.”
But the Valdez family said they needed to come to show their love and support for what this officer did.
Happening now: procession of fallen officer in Boulder CO as his body is taken to the mortuary… hundreds of people lining the streets @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/dxMAmA5OZX
— Dan Rascon (@TVDanRascon) March 24, 2021
“I want to send my condolences to his family and all his kids because he put his life on the edge for all these people,” said Teresa Valdez.
About 10 miles outside of town, the family of 25-year-old Rikki Olds held a press conference to speak to the media about her life and what she meant to so many. She was a front-line manager at King Soopers.
“There’s a hole. There’s a hole in our family that won’t be filled,” said her uncle Robert Olds. “Rikki was truly special to us. She was vibrant. She was bubbly. Rikki was kind of the light of our family.”
Happening now: family of #BoulderMassacre victim about to speak to media. Rikki Olds was just 25 yrs old the front line manager at Kings Soopers pic.twitter.com/bh8D9NYu0k
— Dan Rascon (@TVDanRascon) March 24, 2021
“Anything to make you smile to make you laugh. If you were having that bad day, Rikki was there to make it better,” said best friend and coworker Carlee Lough. “If you needed a pick me up you knew where to go.”
Back in the town of Boulder, mourners drop off letters and hugged and cried along the popular Pearl Street Mall. They were there to remember 49-year-old Lonna Bartkowiak, who owned a clothing store.
“She was the warmest person I have ever met,” said Liesel Strohmeyer, one of Bartkowiak’s former employees. “She made everyone feel so welcome. She was beautiful.”
