"Thinking, breathing hurts, but life goes on. There is no other choice for us. Every day for the past two years, I think of Teri. My child. My baby girl."
Margie Whittington told a crowd of Boulder community members about the joy and love her daughter, Teri Leiker, brought to the world before she was killed on March 22, 2021.
Wednesday marks two years after the gunman killed Leiker and nine other people in the Boulder King Soopers.
As the city heals and moves forward from the tragedy that shook the community, it remembered the people who lost their lives at an annual Boulder Strong Day of Remembrance on the two-year anniversary of the shooting Wednesday evening.
Those killed were 20-year-old Denny Stong, Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Teri Leiker, 51; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; Jody Waters, 65; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49, and Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley.
The community came together to share words of remembrance and healing from family members of the victims, community leaders and musicians.
Local musicians play at the Boulder Strong Day of Remembrance.
"As I walked through the snow to get here tonight, the fierce cold of our lingering Colorado winter put me in the mind of the sharpness of the grief that we will have after the horrific tragedy that our community experienced two years ago," Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett said at the event. "But we know that spring is just around the corner and with it the warmth, hope and healing it brings."
On the afternoon of March 22, 2021, police allege then-21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol in the King Soopers parking lot before moving inside to stalk the aisles. Ambulance crews from around the region responded to a scene that — uncharacteristically, tragically — had only one memorable, transportable injury: Alissa, who was shot in the leg prior to being taken into custody.
Ellen Mahoney, Kevin Mahoney's wife, remembers hearing birds singing outside her window about a month after her husband died and not understanding why they were singing, she said at the event.
"Nothing made sense after our loved ones were suddenly and violently ripped away from us with no goodbyes," Mahoney said.
Following the shooting, Mahoney was plagued by what-ifs, she said. What if their loved ones hadn't been at the store that day? What if they had moved just a little faster out of harm's way? What if it hadn't happened at all?
Mahoney is grateful for work lawmakers have done to address mass shootings, but more work needs to be done to address mental health issues, prevent gun violence and ban assault weapons, she said.
"I feel certain our loved ones would want us to be happy," Mahoney said. "They want us to still hear the birds sing. They want us to embrace love. Love before us, love behind us, love to our left, love to our right, love above us, love below us and love for all."
Robert Olds, Nikki Olds' uncle, voiced his frustration with the justice system in bringing closure to his and the other victims' families.
"We've been frustrated by a broken judicial system that seems to service the murderer more than it does the victims," Olds said. "We continue to be revictimized time and time again with court delays, reports of incompetency and defense lawyer tactics."
Olds hopes people honor the lives lost two years ago by carrying forth their light, he said.
"The way we can all honor Rikki's memory is by living out the things she stood for in life, such as being true to yourself unapologetically, be bold ... get outdoors and experience new places, be a good friend and surround yourself with good friends, show your love to those close to you."
Gov. Jared Polis speaks at the Boulder Strong Day of Remembrance.
Other event speakers, including Gov. Jared Polis, Boulder Chief of Police Maris Herold, and victim family members shared stories about the victims and words of grief and healing.
Phi Bernier, Suzanne Fountain's lifelong partner, wrote and played a song dedicated to her.
"That was the love of my life. She brought me peace and she brought me happiness," Bernier said.
Pam Davis, Boulder's assistant city manager, helped plan the event and said their goal is to have an annual day of remembrance in perpetuity to remember the victims.
"We wanted to create an event this year truly centered on lifting up the memories of the lives we lost and providing the opportunity for family members and community members who had a direct connection to the people to speak and share," Davis said. "We also wanted it to be a very artistic event, so we've infused music with local musicians and our Office of Arts and Culture."
Attendees left the event with a bag of compost, created from organic matter from flowers and other things left on the fence in memorial outside of King Soopers after the shooting, and seeds to plant with it.
"I'm really proud of the broad partnership we've had and the way we've infused thoughtfulness into the entire event experience from the moment you walk in the door and receive a candle to the moment you leave with the bag of compost."
In the time the community has taken to heal, Colorado has had several other mass shootings, including a shooting at East High School just hours before the Day of Remembrance event and only about one month after a second shooting at the same high school.
Wednesday's shooting happened just after 10 a.m. at East High School, injuring two administrators, who are still in the hospital.
At East High School earlier this month, Luis Garcia, a student on the soccer team, was shot while sitting in his car on Esplanade outside the school. He died a few weeks later.
In May 2021, a gunman killed six members of an extended family at a birthday party in a mobile home in Colorado Springs before killing himself.
In December 2021, a gunman killed six people in a shooting spree in Denver and Lakewood, before a Lakewood Police officer felled him.
In November 2022, a gunman killed five people at LGBTQ+ nightclub Club Q in Colorado Springs.
The challenges that lead to this kind of repeating gun violence are "incredibly complex," Davis said. As a government leader, Davis and her team have developed a "really unfortunate" network of people in other places who have dealt with the responses to situations like these and learned a lot from each other, she said.
"Those of us who have the ability to build strong communities and focus on the love and the light in our communities should keep that alive, it's the most important thing we can do," Davis said. "We can prevent those incidents by ensuring that everyone who comes through our community feels loved and valued."
Resources for people experiencing trauma related to the King Soopers shooting are available at the Boulder Strong Resource Center, 2935 Baseline Road in Boulder.
