Two men and a woman are dead after a shooting early Wednesday evening inside the Walmart Supercenter at 9901 Grant St. in Thornton, police said. Police said the gunman is at large.
Hundreds of emergency responders ringed the Thornton Town Center shopping complex for hours after the shooting was reported about 6:30 p.m.
John Leyba, The Denver Post
Rochelle Ginsner holds her daughter Danielle Carey, 16, an employee, after they were released from the parking lot at Walmart after a shooting at the store on Nov. 1, 2017.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Walmart employees and customers head away from the scene outside of the Walmart store where a shooting occurred inside the store at 9901 Grant Street on Nov. 1, 2017 in Thornton.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
Darlene Jackson sits on an overturned shopping cart as she and fellow shoppers and employees gather outside after a gunman opened fire near the Halloween section of Walmart at 99th and Grant Street in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
Employees Jose Delgado and Alexandra Adams stand outside after a gunman opened fire near the Halloween section of Walmart at 99th and Grant Street in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Police at shooting in Walmart on Nov. 1, 2017 in Thornton.
RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post
Witnesses walk from a bus to Thornton Civic Center after two men were killed during a shooting inside the Walmart Super Center iNovember 1, 2017 in Thornton.
John Leyba, The Denver Post
Family and friends wait on a hill to hear word from their loved ones as emergency crews and police patrol the grounds of the Walmart after a shooting at the store on Nov. 1, 2017
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
A father and son, who were customers inside Walmart, are escorted out of the parking lot and away from the scene of the Walmart store where a shooting occurred inside the store at 9901 Grant Street on Nov. 1, 2017 in Thornton.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Employees gather together outside away from the scene outside of the Walmart store where a shooting occurred inside the store at 9901 Grant Street on November 1, 2017 in Thornton, Colorado. Two people were killed and one taken to the hospital after a shooting that started just around 6:00pm.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Police officers help a disabled man leave the parking lot outside of the Walmart store where a shooting occurred at 9901 Grant Street on Nov. 1, 2017 in Thornton.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
A Thornton police officer gives instructions to people as they stand outside after a gunman opened fire near the Halloween section of Walmart at 99th and Grant Street in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Walmart employees and customers that were inside the store wait to hear what to do from police as they stand behind police tape outside of the Walmart store where a shooting occurred Nov. 1, 2017 in Thornton.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Walmart employees and customers head away from the scene outside of the Walmart store where a shooting occurred on Nov. 1, 2017 in Thornton.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
A Thornton police officer watches as people are instructed to leave the parking lot after a gunman opened fire near the Halloween section of Walmart at 99th and Grant Street in Thornton.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
People stand outside after a gunman opened fire near the Halloween section of Walmart at 99th and Grant Street in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
Employees exit the parking lot after a gunman opened fire near the Halloween section of Walmart at 99th and Grant Street in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
People stand outside after a gunman opened fire near the Halloween section of Walmart at 99th and Grant Street in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017.
John Leyba, The Denver Post
Employees and shoppers are released from a holding area in the Walmart lot. Emergency crews and police on the grounds of the Walmart in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017 during a shooting.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
A man in a Rascal is helped out of the parking lot as shoppers and employees gather outside after a gunman opened fire near the Halloween section of Walmart at 99th and Grant Street in Thornton.
Andy Cross, The Denver Post
Bystanders on a hill at 98th and Grant across the street from a shooting investigation at a Walmart in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017.
Andy Cross, The Denver Post
Police investigate the scene of a fatal shooting at the Walmart in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
People are escorted out after a gunman opened fire near the Halloween section of Walmart at 99th and Grant Street in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Onlookers watch police activity at the scene of a shooting inside the Walmart at 9901 Grant Street on Nov. 1, 2017 in Thornton.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Police investigate the scene of a fatal shooting at the Walmart in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Police investigate the scene of a fatal shooting at the Walmart in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Police investigate the scene of a fatal shooting at the Walmart in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017.
Joe Amon, The Denver Post
Police investigate the scene of a fatal shooting at the Walmart Super Center in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
A young girl walks through the parking lot away from the scene outside of the Walmart store where a shooting occurred on Nov. 1, 2017 in Thornton.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
A father and his scared daughter, who were customers inside Walmart, are escorted out of the parking lot and away from the scene of the Walmart store where a shooting occurred on Nov. 1, 2017 in Thornton.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
THORNTON, CO - OCTOBER 1 - A father and his scared daughter, who were customers inside Walmart, are escorted out of the parking lot and away from the scene of the Walmart store where a shooting occurred on November 1, 2017 in Thornton, Colorado. Two people were killed and one taken to the hospital after a shooting that started just around 6:00pm.
John Leyba, The Denver Post
Adams County Sheriff on the grounds of the Walmart in Thornton on Nov. 1, 2017 talking to witnesses after a shooting inside the store.
John Leyba, The Denver Post
People are taken away from the Walmart on a bus on Nov. 1, 2017 in Thornton after a shooting inside the store.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
Police guard the front entrance to Walmart where a shooting occurred inside the store at 9901 Grant Street on Nov. 1, 2017 in Thornton.
Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila said a gunman wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and a maroon shirt walked into the south entrance of the store and began shooting a handgun randomly. The three victims were all in the same area near the front of the store, Avila said.
Thornton Police
The person of interest is described as a Caucasian adult male wearing a black vest, maroon
shirt, blue jeans.
Thornton Police
The suspect fled the store and is believed to have fled
the area in a possible red Mitsubishi Mirage 4 door hatchback.
Thornton Police
The suspect fled the store and is believed to have fled
the area in a possible red Mitsubishi Mirage 4 door hatchback.
The gunman said nothing during the shooting, Avila said, then left.
An hour later, the Thornton Police Department tweeted, “At this time this is not an active shooter.”
Police said the gunman fled in a red Mitsubishi Mirage four-door hatchback, and Avila said they do not have any leads on his identity.
The Thornton Town Center is a big-box shopping complex that backs to Interstate 25 south of East 104th Avenue. It includes several other retailers, including Home Depot, Cinebarre theater and McDonald’s.
Walmart shooting incident, person and vehicle of interest, remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers 720-913-7867 pic.twitter.com/PFNbEALpbG
People who had been in the store flooded the parking lot of the nearby Golden Corral restaurant, which overlooks the shopping center from the south. Others looked toward the Walmart while waiting for news of their loved ones.
Aaron Stephens, 44, was in the self-checkout line at Walmart when he heard a single shot fired, followed by more bursts of gunfire. He said customers started screaming and running for the exits.
“I was scared,” Stephens said. “I feared for my life.”
Brandon Bonney said he received a call from his brother, Edward, from inside the store. “Bro, I’m inside Walmart, and there’s a shooting here,” he said.
Brandon said he told his brother to “just get somewhere and hide.” Edward started crying and Brandon told him to put his phone on silent and to stay calm. He said he hadn’t heard from Edward since.
Jay Quawrn Thompson, 18, was working in the back of the Walmart when he heard gunshots and then saw a screaming woman running toward him.
“A lady came running back, screaming about the shots. I got her out,” said Thompson, who just started work at the store a month ago.
Together, they ran out of the back of the store and then sat down and waited for help. Police stopped to make sure they were OK and then told them to get to safety.
Thompson was standing in the parking lot of the Golden Corral with no coat when Manny Colmenero stopped and asked if he was cold. When the teenager said yes, Colmenero took off his own coat and gave it to Thompson — and told him to keep it.
Colmenero, whose wife works for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, talked about shootings that have dominated the news here and abroad.
“You see this stuff everywhere now,” he said. “We got to help each other out.”
Shooting just occurred at Walmart, 9900 Grant St, multiple parties down. Please stay away from the area. pic.twitter.com/MdffbTPLKl
Police warned people in the area to stay away from the shopping center. Streets leading to the area were blocked by emergency vehicles, and police officers armed with long guns were standing at intersections.
