Boulder shooting: Two girls, aged 13 & 14, survived massacre by ‘hiding upstairs in a coat closet for an hour’
TWO sisters aged 13 and 14 survived the Boulder supermarket shooting by hiding among coats in a closet, their grandad revealed.
Steven McCue said the girls are safe but "traumatized" after ten people were massacred by a marauding gunman with an AR-15-style rifle.
He said: "He saw it and got the girls down. They ran and hid upstairs in a coat closet for an hour, in the coats.
"They were communicating with my daughter through his phone, texting.
She said through tears: “My son grabbed me by my coat and said, ‘No, we can’t help him. We gotta go.’
“I wanted to try to help that guy in the road and I couldn't because he was just too close and we had to get away.”
Another shopper, James Graham, said he could smell gunpowder as he ran from the store.
"Shooter is inside," one cop called out over the radio. "He just shot at us twice."
After a few seconds of quiet someone says over the radio: "Officer down inside the building."
The other nine victims were: Denny Strong, 20, Neven Stoanisic, 23, Rikki Olds, 25, Tralona Bartkowiak, 49, Suzanne Fountain, 59, Teri Leiker, 51, Kevin Mahoney, 61, Lynn Murray, 62, and Jody Waters, 65.
Today police named the suspect as Ahmad Alyssa, 21, who has been .
He is alleged to have used an AR-15-style rifle in the rampage - America's second mass shooting in a week.
Last night Boulder cops Officer Talley, a dad of seven who joined the force in 2010.
Police Chief Maris Herold choked back tears as she confirmed his death at an emotion news conference.
She said: "Police officers' actions were nothing short of heroic.
"My heart goes out to the victims of this incident. I'm grateful to the police officers who responded and I am so sorry for the loss of Officer Talley."
District Attorney Michael Dougherty said: "This is a tragedy and a nightmare for Boulder County.
"These were people going about their day, doing their shopping.
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"I promise the victims and the people of the state of Colorado that we will secure justice."