The Latest: Police say shoppers drew guns after shooting

The Latest on the shooting at a Colorado Walmart (all times local):

5:10 p.m.

Colorado police investigating a shooting at a suburban Denver Walmart say they had to rule out customers who drew weapons as suspects after a gunman opened fire inside the store. Three people died.

Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila said Thursday that investigators reviewed store surveillance footage Wednesday night and saw “a few” people inside the store who drew weapons in response to the gunfire.

Avila did not know if any of them were security guards employed by the store.

Avila said officers watched the footage and ruled out each person out as a potential shooter before releasing statements identifying the lone shooter.

He says the customers who pulled out guns did not slow officers’ response to the crime scene.

Scott Ostrem was arrested Thursday, about 14 hours after the shooting.

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3 p.m.

The roofing company boss of a man suspected of fatally shooting three people at a suburban Denver Walmart says the suspect walked away from his job without warning the morning of the shooting.

David Heidt (Height) of BM Roofing said 47-year-old Scott Ostrem worked in the company’s metal fabrication shop for the last three years without any problems.

He says Ostrem left his work station around midmorning Wednesday without any explanation and never came back. The shooting happened at the Walmart that evening.

Heidt says Ostrem was a good and quiet worker who was skilled at his craft of marking metal flashing for roofs.

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1 p.m.

Authorities have identified the three people who were fatally shot at a Walmart in suburban Denver.

Coroner Monica Broncucia-Jordan said Thursday that 52-year-old Pamela Marques, 66-year-old Carlos Moreno, and 26-year-old Victor Vasquez died in Wednesday night’s shooting.

Moreno was a grandfather who was a longtime maintenance worker at the Auraria Higher Education Center. It houses various state colleges and universities in downtown Denver.

Spokesman Blaine Nickerson says he was well-known and respected on campus.

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11:15 a.m.

Neighbors of the man suspected of fatally shooting three people at a suburban Denver Walmart say he was unfriendly and occasionally hostile toward them.

Gerald Burnett says he was sitting on the stairs drinking coffee one morning at his garden-style apartment building in Thornton when Scott Ostrem came down the outdoor stairway. He says Ostrem told him to move and cursed at him.

Teresa Muniz (MUHN’-is) says Ostrem never returned her greetings and once or twice swore at people for sitting in the stairways or leaving laundry in communal machines.

She says she sometimes saw him carrying a bow and set of arrows or a shotgun into or out of his apartment.

She says most people in the building know one another but she never even knew Ostrem’s name until now.

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10:40 a.m.

Police say a man suspected of fatally shooting three people inside a Colorado Walmart has a minor criminal record.

Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila said Thursday that 47-year-old Scott Ostrem had a minor criminal history, but Avila didn’t elaborate.

Court records show a resisting arrest charge against Ostrem was dismissed in 1999.

Court records also show Ostrem filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2015.

Ostrem was arrested Thursday, about 14 hours after the shooting inside a Walmart in the Denver suburb of Thornton.

Two men died inside the Walmart, and a woman died later at a hospital.

A motive for the shooting was unknown.

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9:45 a.m.

Police say a man suspected of fatally shooting three people inside a suburban Denver Walmart tried to flee officers in his car but was blocked by traffic.

Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila said Thursday that 47-year-old Scott Ostrem was arrested without incident after a brief chase that started near an apartment about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the Walmart store.

Avila says police went to the apartment and didn’t find Ostrem. But they got an anonymous tip that he was driving in the area and spotted him.

Police took Ostrem into custody after his car was blocked by traffic at an intersection. Avila declined to say if Ostrem was armed.

He says a motive for the shooting is unknown.

Two men died inside the Walmart, which is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Denver in a busy shopping center. A woman died later at a hospital.

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This story has been corrected to show that the tip was that the suspect was driving a car in the area.

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9:20 a.m.

Police say a man suspected of fatally shooting three people inside a suburban Denver Walmart tried to flee officers in his car but was blocked by traffic.

Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila said Thursday that 47-year-old Scott Ostrem was arrested without incident after a brief chase that started at a Thornton apartment.

Avila says police received an anonymous tip that led them to the apartment, which is about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the Walmart store where the shooting took place late Wednesday.

Police took Ostrem into custody after his car was blocked by traffic at an intersection. Avila declined to say if Ostrem was armed.

He says a motive for the shooting is unknown.

Two men died inside the Walmart, which is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Denver in a busy shopping center. A woman died later at a hospital.

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8:20 a.m.

Police say they’ve arrested a man suspected of walking into a suburban Denver Walmart and immediately opening fire with a handgun, killing two men and a woman Wednesday night.

Thornton police say 47-year-old Scott Ostrem was arrested Thursday morning, about 14 hours after he fled the store in a car. Authorities used security video to help identify him.

Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila said Wednesday night that the shooting appears random and there are no indications that it was an act of terror.

He says the motive is unknown.

Two men died inside the Walmart, which is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Denver in a busy shopping center. The woman died later at a hospital.

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6:58 a.m.

Colorado authorities have identified a man who police say nonchalantly walked into a Walmart and immediately opened fire, killing two men and a woman Wednesday night.

Thornton police are searching for 47-year-old Scott Ostrem, who they say fled in a car before officers arrived. Authorities used security video to help identify the suspect.

Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila says the shooting appears to be random and there are no indications that it was an act of terror.

Customers and employees hid or fled toward the exits after gunshots rang out in Thornton, a suburb of Denver. Avila says he doesn’t know how many rounds were fired.

Two men died at the store, and the woman died at a hospital. Authorities did not immediately release any other information about the victims.

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11:53 p.m.

Colorado authorities are searching for a man who police say nonchalantly walked into a Walmart and immediately opened fire, killing two men and a woman Wednesday night.

Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila says the shooting appears to be random and there are no indications that it was an act of terror.

Customers and employees hid or fled toward the exits after gunshots rang out in Thornton, which is a suburb of Denver. Avila says he doesn’t know how many rounds were fired.

Authorities are reviewing security video to identify the suspect, who fled in a car before officers arrived.

Two men died at the store, and the woman died at a hospital. Authorities did not immediately release any other information about the victims.

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What New York Attack Suspect’s Words May Say About ISIS Ties

It means “remaining” or “enduring,” and it is the terrorist group’s slogan, dating to when it was still an affiliate of Al Qaeda.

A senior law enforcement official, who had been briefed on the investigation into the New York attack, said that the phrase appeared more than once in the note. “There’s some stuff in the beginning and then there’s the repeated, ‘The Islamic State will endure forever,’ or ‘will last forever,’ you know, three times, in Arabic,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.

Adhering to Directions

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The Islamic State’s magazine, Rumiyah, provided detailed guidance on truck attacks in an issue published in November 2016. The group encouraged supporters to keep driving the vehicle for as long as possible. “To ensure the most carnage over the enemies of Allah, it is imperative that one does not exit his vehicle during the attack. Rather, he should remain inside, driving over the already harvested kuffar” — infidels — “and continue crushing their remains until it becomes physically impossible to continue by vehicle.”

In the New York attack, the suspect drove over people in the bike lane until he crashed into a school bus.

According to the magazine, the attacker is expected to jump out and use a secondary weapon, like a gun or a knife. The New York attacker did just that: He jumped out with a pellet gun, though he did not appear to have hurt anyone with it. His aim, though, may have also been to use a knife. The complaint states that a black bag containing three knives was found near Mr. Saipov after he was shot.

Among the more obscure instructions, however, is the manner in which the assailant is supposed to tell the public of his allegiance to the Islamic State. The article states that an assailant should write a note on several sheets of paper, throwing them out the window of the vehicle as the attack is being carried out. The magazine suggests including the phrase, “The Islamic State will remain,” a rendering of the group’s baqiya slogan.

The New York attacker’s papers were found about 10 feet from the driver’s side of the pickup, the criminal complaint said.

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Addressing the ISIS Leader

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