Five hours passed between the time a gunman started firing shots inside a Thornton Walmart and the time when police released a picture of a suspect and his car, but police never warned residents during that period that a potentially armed and dangerous person was on the loose.
The chaos of panicked people running out of the store, shoppers who pulled their own guns and multiple victims created a difficult situation for police and slowed their investigation.
Meanwhile, the suspected gunman, Scott Ostrem, remained at-large until he was captured by police at 8:11 a.m. Thursday about six miles from the scene, stuck in rush-hour traffic in Westminster.
The police department, however, never activated its Reverse 911 system, which alerts residents about emergency situations, to caution people about an armed suspect and how to protect themselves. Instead, the department relied on its Twitter account and the news media to keep area residents abreast of the developing situation, said Officer Victor Avila, a Thornton Police Department spokesman.
“As far as being second-guessed about what we didn’t do, I wouldn’t want to elaborate on that now,” Avila said.
Ostrem was being held Thursday night on three counts of suspicion of murder. No bond had been set, and he was scheduled to appear in Adams County District Court at 11 a.m. Friday. No motive for the shooting has been determined.
The shots were reported at 6:10 p.m. Wednesday, and Thornton police sent the first tweet about it at 6:27 p.m.
Shooting just occurred at Walmart, 9900 Grant St, multiple parties down. Please stay away from the area. pic.twitter.com/MdffbTPLKl
— Thornton Police Dept (@ThorntonPolice) November 2, 2017
The first officers on scene needed to assess the situation and develop a strategy to go inside because it was unknown whether the shooter was dead or alive and whether he was still inside or already fleeing with the store’s customers and employees, Avila said. Police teams searched the other stores in the Thornton Town Center and the surrounding area.
Police also had to make sure paramedics and EMTs could safely reach victims. And then once they determined the store was secure, detectives escorted a store employee back inside to begin reviewing security video footage from the dozens of cameras in the store and the shopping center parking lot.
“We had a lot of footage, and hundreds of people self-evacuating,” Avila said. “Obviously, it took time.”
When detectives began reviewing video footage, they noticed multiple people drawing guns, Avila said. That slowed the process of identifying who and how many suspects were involved in the shooting, he said.
“Once the building was safe enough to get into it, we started reviewing that (surveillance video) as quickly as we could,” he 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.”
Police issued a tweet at 9:06 p.m. that said detectives were still trying to identify suspects by reviewing video footage and interviewing witnesses. An hour later, the department reported that no one was in custody.
UPDATE: Detectives currently reviewing security footage & witnesses being interviewed for assistance with suspect(s) desc/info. pic.twitter.com/rObFfbxeIf
— Thornton Police Dept (@ThorntonPolice) November 2, 2017
At 11 p.m., police held a news conference and released a picture of Ostrem and his red Mitsubishi Mirage. They tweeted that information at 11:22 p.m.
Walmart shooting incident, person and vehicle of interest, remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers 720-913-7867 pic.twitter.com/PFNbEALpbG
— Thornton Police Dept (@ThorntonPolice) November 2, 2017
The original Thornton police tweet warned people to avoid the area. But that didn’t stop worried families of Walmart employees and shoppers from gathering at the scene. Curious onlookers also drove by, and some stopped to watch.
“The danger is inherent in what is going on,” he said. “It’s not necessarily something that needs to be hammered home. The problem whenever we have lights and sirens is everyone comes out. No amount of communication could change that.”
The Thornton Police Department will review its response to the shooting, and its public communication will be included in the review, Avila said.
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.”
Some customers wondered why their fellow shoppers who were armed didn’t confront the shooter.
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.
