[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 16, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1222-S1223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF KING SOOPERS SHOOTING

  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, on March 22, 2021, we suffered another 
horrific mass shooting in our State at the King Soopers grocery store 
in Boulder, CO. As we approach its 1-year anniversary, we honor the 10 
Coloradans whose lives were cut tragically short in this senseless act 
of gun violence. They leave behind children, spouses, parents, friends, 
and a Boulder community that will always carry the grief of their loss.
  They will never forget the 10 victims and neither should America. So 
today, we read their names into the Congressional Record.
  Denny Stong was 20 years old and a graduate of Fairview High School. 
He was an introverted, smart kid who loved history and model airplanes. 
He had been covering shifts at the King Soopers and took enormous pride 
in his role as an essential worker during the pandemic. He once posted 
on Facebook: ``I can't stay home . . . I am a grocery store worker.''
  Neven Stanisic was 23 years old. His dad said he was ``a really good 
boy, a good kid . . . a hard-working boy.'' His parents are refugees 
from Bosnia who left in the 1990s to escape the war. The reverend at 
their local church said, ``His family fled the war . . . They left 
everything to save their lives, and came here to have a new start.''
  Rikki Olds was 25 years old. She had been working as a manager at 
King Soopers for 6 years. Her family described her as a ``firecracker'' 
who lit up a room with her infectious giggle. Her aunt Lori said, ``She 
had a beautiful way of just being her . . . When you're down, she just 
wanted to cheer you up, just by being around.''
  Tralona Bartkowiak was 49 years old. She co-owned a clothing and 
accessories store with her sister and was a

[[Page S1223]]

frequent presence in the Boulder arts and music scene. She had a deep 
curiosity about the world that took her on travels from Nepal to Costa 
Rica. Her younger brother remembers her as ``a beam of light.''
  Teri Leiker was 51 years old. She was a huge fan of the Buffaloes at 
CU and was a regular face at the Pearl Street Stampede. A friend called 
Teri ``the most selfless, innocent, amazing person I have had the honor 
of meeting.''
  Suzanne Fountain was 59 years old. She worked for 15 years at Boulder 
Community Health. She loved gardening and was passionate about music 
and theater. A friend described her as ``the cream of the crop and a 
good person, a good soul.''
  Kevin Mahoney was 61 years old. He had worked in the hotel business 
but retired early to spend more time traveling, skiing, and visiting 
his daughter, Erika. After learning of her father's death, Erika wrote, 
``My dad represents all things Love. I'm so thankful he could walk me 
down the aisle last summer.''
  Lynn Murray was 62 years old, a mother of two, and a retired photo 
director for prominent national magazines. Her husband John said, ``I 
just want her to be remembered as this amazing, amazing comet spending 
62 years flying across the sky.''
  Jody Waters was 65 years old. She used to own a boutique clothing 
store named Applause on the Pearl Street Mall, where she remembered all 
her customers and their favorite brands. She was a mother of two and a 
grandmother who loved horses and hiking. A friend said when Jody walked 
into the room, ``She was a breath of fresh air, a light.''
  Finally, we honor Officer Eric Talley. He was 51 years old, a man of 
deep faith, and a devoted father of seven. After losing a close friend 
to a DUI, he joined the police academy at age 40 to give back to the 
community. In 2013, he made headlines when he helped rescue 11 
ducklings from a drainage ditch. Eric's father said he ``loved his kids 
and family more than anything.'' For their sake, he was hoping to stay 
off the frontlines by learning to become a drone operator. But when the 
bullets rang out, he rushed into action, saving countless lives at the 
cost of his own. Colorado owes Officer Talley a debt we will never be 
able to repay. He and the nine other victims represent the best of our 
State.
  As we honor the victims' lives, we stand with all who continue to 
grieve and the community as it continues to heal. We condemn the 
senseless gun violence, not only in Boulder last year, but in far too 
many American cities and towns every day. Until no American has to live 
in reasonable fear of being gunned down in a school, or a movie 
theater, or a grocery store, we have more work to do.

                          ____________________