The Boulder, Colorado, grocery store where a gunman killed 10 people in a March rampage will reopen later this year, company and city officials announced Wednesday.
The King Soopers renovation should be completed by late fall, Jessica Trowbridge, corporate affairs manager for the company said.
The large grocery store is an essential neighborhood asset and reopening it “sends a clear message that we will not be bowed by our recent tragedy, and that hope and solidarity can overcome fear and hatred,” Boulder Mayor Sam Weaver said.
On March 22, a gunman opened fire outside and inside the store, killing 10 people, including a Boulder police officer.
The suspected shooter was wounded and has been criminally charged. Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in late April that investigators don’t have a grasp as to a motive.
Flowers, signs and other mementos on a fence outside the store will be removed and transferred to the Museum of Boulder for documentation and preservation. Weaver said the museum will work with victims’ families to determine the best way for preservation.
The city is also in very early discussions for a possible permanent memorial, Deputy City Manager Chris Meshuk said. That could take years, and it hasn’t been determined what one could look like or where it would be.
Trowbridge said the company wants feedback from the community and employees about the redesign.
Scenes of other mass shootings have reopened after renovations. Walmart renovated and reopened an El Paso store after a gunman killed 23 people in an Aug. 3, 2019, attack.
In Colorado, the Aurora movie theater where a gunman killed 12 people in 2012 was renovated, renamed and reopened a year after the attack.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
