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The National Rifle Association (NRA) celebrated one week ago as the city of Boulder, Colorado had its attempt to introduce controls on assault rifles struck down.
The powerful US pro-gun group bragged it had used its lobbying arm to support the pro-gun cause in the Colorado court. A judge ruled the rifle ban violated a 2003 law stopping local municipalities from enforcing their own regulations for firearms.
The NRA’s celebratory post came a week before a shooter dressed in tactical gear gunned down people shopping for groceries at King Soopers supermarket in South Boulder at about 2.50pm Monday local time.
Ten people were killed in the mass shooting, including a police officer who had served in the Boulder Police Department since 2010.
A suspect has been arrested, Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold told CNN. Police initially received calls about shots being fired by a person with a “patrol rifle” and senior law enforcement now say the man had an AR-15 type rifle.
“ICYMI: A Colorado judge gave law-abiding gun owners something to celebrate,” the NRA tweeted last week.
“In an @NRAILA-supported case, he ruled that the city of Boulder’s ban on commonly-owned rifles (AR-15s) and 10+ round mags was pre-empted by state law and STRUCK THEM DOWN.”
RELATED: Hero cop killed by shooter identified
“In case you’re wondering what kind of monsters these people are, the NRA tweeted this less than a week ago,” musician Mikel Jollett tweeted.
“You have blood on your greedy hands,” actor George Takei wrote.
Cameron Kasky, a survivor of the 2018 Parkland shootings, wrote: “Congrats guys Colorado is so much safer now”.
The case against Boulder was supported by the NRA’s lobbying arm, the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA ILA).
An article on the NRA ILA site opined: “The city council should have listened to the city attorney. His repeated attempts to warn them that they did not have the authority to pass these ordinances were cited throughout the opinion.
“The opinion is also very thoroughly and thoughtfully written, which will make it even harder to overturn, should the city appeal it.”
Shannon Aulabaugh, a spokesperson for the city of Boulder previously told The Denver Post the city’s lawyers were yet to decide if they’d appeal the ruling.
Witnesses at the scene of Monday’s shooting said they saw a man remain silent as he fired on shoppers in the supermarket car park, before moving into King Soopers, where he continued shooting.
A shirtless man with a beard was later escorted from the scene by police. His hands were cuffed behind his back. The man appeared to have blood covering one of his legs.
Witness Ryan Borowski said he was shopping when he heard gunshots. He said that by the third shot everybody was running.
“Boulder feels like a bubble, and the bubble burst,” Mr Borowski said.
“This feels like the safest spot in America, and I just nearly got killed for getting a soda and a bag of chips.”
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