LOS ANGELES, Nov. 2 -- A suspect of the fatal shooting that killed three people inside a Walmart supermarket in the U.S. state of Colorado was arrested Thursday morning, local police confirmed.
"Walmart homicide suspect Scott Ostrem has been taken into custody," Thornton Police Department said on its official tweet page, 14 hours after the heinous act occurred around 6:00 p.m. Wednesday evening (0030 GMT, Thursday) in Thornton, a Denver suburb, and left three dead.
The suspect was identified as 47-year-old Scott Ostrem, who was described by witnesses as a cold blood murder. Police said he walked into the south entrance of the store and began shooting with a handgun randomly, then fled the scene in a red Mitsubishi car.
At a press conference Thursday noon, Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila disclosed more details about the arrest, saying that a citizen tip helped police to locate the suspect's residence.
Policemen and other federal law enforcement personnel surveilled the area all night and found the Mitsubishi Mirage with Colorado license plate in the morning, Avila said, adding that morning traffic ahead the suspect stopped him from escaping, allowing officers to arrest him in car, about one block away from his apartment.
Avila told reporters earlier that Ostrem said nothing when he opened fire at the supermarket. So far, policemen had no idea about his motive but there are no indications it is terror-related.
"From what we have right now it appears to be random. It's a crazy world we live in." Avila said.
"He walked in very nonchalantly with his hands in the pockets, raised a weapon and began shooting. Then he turns around and walks out of the store."
Avila confirmed that Ostrem had minor criminal history.
The Denver Post reported that court records show Ostrem was arrested in 2013 for driving while impaired and filed for bankruptcy two years later.
Avila also explained why it cost policemen 5 hours after the shooting to find out that the suspect was still at large, saying officers must keep safety of other people at the scene first, and then check the monitors' footage and use database to identify who is the shooter.
The Denver Post cited Avila's words as saying that when the gunman opened fire, most of shoppers inside the supermarket screamed and ran for cover, but others pulled out their own handguns.
There was no exchanging fires between the gunman and shoppers, but those who drew weapons delayed the investigation since authority had to identify the real assailant and make sure there was no more shooter.
The shooting incident triggered a new wave of advocate for gun control on social media.
A user named NyxSea tweeted "this is how mass shootings have become normal in the US. When I read that there was 1 death #ThorntonWalmartShooting I said thank God."
"Thank God it was only 1 death, There should be no death #ThorntonWalmartShooting. What to do about guns?" he retweeted three minutes later.
"Thanks to @NRA lobbyists and lawmakers beholden to them, THIS is what America looks like. THIS is every city, every day," tweeted Shanon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a grassroots organization working to end gun violence.
"Why does this keep happening. And even in my home state. Why is Colorado known for shooting?" another user named Karlie tweeted.
The state of Colorado witnessed a mass shooting in July 2017. Twelve people were killed and 59 others injured in Aurora, a suburb 10 miles (16 km) east of Denver, where a heavily armed gunman burst into a packed theater and sprayed the audience with bullets.
According to the non-profit organization Gun Violence Archive, there have been 299 mass shooting incidents so far this year in the United States. Also on Wednesday, a man shot dead his ex-girlfriend before turning the gun at himself in a murder-suicide attempt in the Manhattan borough of New York City.
An estimated 30,000 Americans die each year from guns, and the country is split on whether to have controls on guns or follow the 1789 Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
华盛顿非法移民或将获大学助学金资格
2013两会代表精彩语录之九(双语)
国内英语资讯:Xi holds phone talks with Putin on COVID-19 pandemic
无成人陪同 14岁以下儿童禁入迪士尼
国内英语资讯:Senior official calls for stronger legal guarantee for public health
英国房产跳楼价甩卖 仅售1英镑
研究:宝宝反复读同一本书学得更快
女性爱在社交网上说谎 假装过得精彩
《牛津英语词典》收录WFH、social distancing等新冠肺炎疫情相关词汇
国际英语资讯:COVID-19 cases in U.S. top 650,000: Johns Hopkins University
国内英语资讯:Chinese vice premier underlines public participation in epidemic control
国际英语资讯:Number of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria rises to 442
2013两会代表精彩语录之五(双语)
为了13亿人的中国梦--记中国国家主席、中央军委主席习近平[1]-记中国国家主席、中央军委主席习近平
体坛英语资讯:Real Madrid go top after Clasico win, Sevilla move up to third
2013两会代表精彩语录之六(双语)
德国曝出有机鸡蛋造假丑闻
英三成家庭解体源起“夜哭郎”
2013两会代表精彩语录之八(双语)
宜家蛋糕大肠菌超标 从23国召回
研究:周末是买机票最佳时机
南非近三成在校女生携艾滋病毒
日海啸灾区闹鬼 居民求助驱鬼师
国际英语资讯:Global COVID-19 cases surpass 2.1 mln: Johns Hopkins University
2013两会代表精彩语录之四(双语)
体坛英语资讯:Leaders Bayern outclass Hoffenheim 6-0 in Bundesliga
日本推腿上广告 女孩可出租玉腿
国际英语资讯:Italy registers 168,941 coronavirus cases, death toll at 22,170
欧洲或因债务危机失去年轻一代
体坛英语资讯:Sabalenka surges past Kvitova to win Doha WTA title