As a nation grapples with the effects of another two mass shootings 13 hours apart in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that left 29 people dead and 53 others injured, at least one store has asked Denver police to increase its patrols.
The shooting in El Paso at a Walmart prompted the Denver Police Department to encourage its officers to be extra vigilant around big-box stores and to offer more patrolling for those that ask for it, police spokesman Carlos Montoya said.
“We just asked our officers to be aware and vigilant,” he said.
The Walmart in Stapleton requested that off-duty police who help with security stay longer than usual — until closing, Montoya said. So far, it has been the only store to make that request.
Aurora police officials said they were engaging in “reassurance policing” and take mass shooting incidents seriously.
When asked if the agency was increasing patrols or doing anything differently, spokesman Tony Camacho said the department works with the community on a daily basis, “not just because of tragic events.”
Elected leaders and presidential hopefuls have shared their own thoughts about the mass shootings, with some offering potential solutions.
Colorado’s former governor and Democratic presidential hopeful John Hickenlooper called a media briefing Sunday afternoon outside the Capitol in Denver to discuss possible solutions to decrease mass shootings, joining other Democrats calling for gun reform.
Hickenlooper said the shootings transported him back to Colorado’s own mass shootings, including the Aurora theater shooting and the Arapahoe High School shooting. He asked that perpetrators’ names not be used in the media.
He urged residents in every state to push their leaders to make changes to gun laws, advocating for universal background checks in every state, limits to magazine capacities and banning of bump stocks.
“I think at this point, every American should be calling their Congressional representatives and saying, ‘All right, the House passed a bill on universal background checks; why is it that the Senate hasn’t taken it up now?’ And take that as a starting point,” he said.
Hickenlooper said he’s not advocating for taking guns away from anybody, but the issue is one of the most frustrating he’s dealt with in public life because officials haven’t been able to deal with the problem in a reasonable way.
“Mass shootings are happening one a week,” he said. “What does it take for Congress to finally do something?”
If elected president, Hickenlooper said he would work across party lines with Republicans who are not afraid of the National Rifle Association to pass reform, ensure responders to mass shootings get the psychiatric care they need and use Colorado’s model of making mental health part of regular medical health checkups.
Colorado Republican Sen. Cory Gardner on Twitter called the mass shootings heartbreaking and shared his appreciation for first responders. In one of his tweets, he pointed to the El Paso shooter’s anti-immigrant manifesto and referred to the shooting as domestic terrorism.
“There’s no place for bigoted white supremacy in our nation,” he wrote.
Based on information from law enforcement, the shooter in El Paso was motivated by xenophobia and this is a case of domestic terrorism. There’s no place for bigoted white supremacy in our nation.
— Cory Gardner (@SenCoryGardner) August 4, 2019
Also Sunday, per President Donald Trump’s proclamation, Gov. Jared Polis ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff at all statewide buildings until sunset Thursday to honor the victims of the shooting, his office said in a press release.
