News & Events

Boulder, Colorado; mass shooting , 3-22-2021

Description:

HOPE AACR was requested to assist in the Boulder, Colorado mass shooting that occurred on March 22, 2021. Lee Fernholz, RMR Regional Manager, requested additional HOPE teams because of the size and scope of this tragedy. Karen Klein, CGC Regional Manager, also organized this massive effort. We responded for a second deployment; the first one was with four teams from the MWR during the month of April, 2021. A Resource Center was established on the second floor of Chase Bank that is close to the incident area. There were several agencies stationed there including the District Attorney’s Office from Boulder County, Human Resources from King Soopers grocery store including personnel from corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Colorado Victim Assistance, mental health counselors and security. The Resource Center was open from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm everyday with the exception of Mondays. It was set up as a warm environment with carpet and soft seating and was a quiet and safe place. Lunch and dinner were provided at the Resource Center by local restaurants. All agencies at the Resource Center worked well together for the benefit of the survivors, employees, friends of employees, shoppers at the store at the time of the shooting and family members. We had the opportunity to provide comfort to everyone at the Resource Center and to also walk along the “Memorial Wall” located on a temporary fence in front of King Soopers grocery store. We received continuous gratitude from everyone visiting the Resource Center including all of the various agency’s staff staged at the Resource Center.

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