Armed Walmart shoppers slowed police in shooting investigation

When a gunman opened fire inside a Walmart in Thornton Wednesday night, shoppers screamed and ran for cover — and others pulled out their own handguns.

But those who drew weapons during the shootings ultimately delayed the investigation as authorities pored over surveillance videotape trying to identify the assailant who killed three people, police said Thursday.

Joe Amon, The Denver Post

The Fobb family Angelique 13, Jason Fobb, Destiney 9, Marlena Fobb. Marlena Fobb is hugged by her daughter Destiney 9, as she tells her story of being in the check-out line with her husband Jason next to a man that was shot and killed in the shooting at Walmart in Thornton. "He saved my life, she said, talking of her husband, If he hadn't of threw me to the ground we were gone."

Joe Amon, The Denver Post

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Although authorities said “a few” individuals drew handguns, they posed no physical hazard to officers. But their presence “absolutely” slowed the process of determining who, and how many, suspects were involved in the shootings, said Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila.

It took more than five hours to identify the suspect, 47-year-old Scott Ostrem, who is accused in the seemingly random shootings. The problem for investigators came when they reviewed the surveillance footage and had to follow each individual with a firearm until they could eliminate them as a suspect.

“Once the building was safe enough to get into it, we started reviewing that (surveillance video) as quickly as we could,” Avila said. “That’s when we started noticing” that a number of individuals had pulled weapons. “At that point, as soon as you see that, that’s the one you try to trace through the store, only to maybe find out that’s not him, and we’re back to ground zero again, starting to look again. That’s what led to the extended time.”

He would not elaborate on whether any individuals were detained or tested for gunshot residue, or if anyone other than the suspect had fired shots during the incident. Avila said it would be hard to quantify how much more quickly the investigation could have proceeded.

“It was a very, very fluid situation, and we had to go with what was being presented at the time,” he said.

Darlene Jackson, a truck driver, said she was in the toy section of the store when she heard the gunshots. She later heard that people other than the shooter had guns, but they did not confront the killer.

“Why wouldn’t they draw their guns and shoot him?” she said.

Jackson said she owns a gun but didn’t have it with her at the time. She said she and her husband are going to a shooting range to practice firing the weapon.

The presence of armed civilians at a crime scene can potentially be either a help or a hindrance to police, said Joseph Pollini, professor and deputy chair of the Law and Police Science Department at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

“It can work both ways,” said Pollini, who also worked 30 years as a New York City cop. “In one, you have law abiding citizens present at the scene of a shooting that could terminate it, assist in apprehending the individual. But generally as a rule, you turn to the police for that aspect. It’s not common for civilians to do the job of police, and the fact that they carry firearms can very much complicate things.”

Denver Post reporter Kirk Mitchell contributed to this report.

Originally Published: November 2, 2017 at 1:01 PM MDT