Colorado survivors take the stand in King Soopers shooting trial
Three years after the shooting at the Boulder King Soopers, those who were inside the store shared how they remember that day in court.
Hayden Steele was at a checkout stand when the gunman entered.
"Just chaos, people screaming, running, gunshots, people mobbing toward the back exits to get away," he told the court.
Sarah Moonshadow, also in the front of the store but on the opposite side, said she and her 22-year-old son thought they would make a quick stop.
"He was still crouched down, watching me like I said he wanted to run down the aisle. I kept telling him no, and he just looked like my little baby again. I couldn't let that be the last look I saw on his face," she said.
Another witness told jurors how helpless she felt after falling while running out of the store.
She recalled what was running through her head while lying on the floor, unable to move.
"I said, 'God, I hope you're ready for me because I think this is it,'" she said. All she could do was listen as gunshots came closer. "I couldn't see them. I couldn't open my eyes. I could feel people go by me."
Those personal accounts followed the more technical testimony from law enforcement in the opening hours of the trial.
Investigators detailed how they were able to use cell phone data and surveillance videos to build a timeline of the defendant's movements.
Roughly 20 minutes before the shooting, he was seen on camera leaving his Arvada home wearing a distinct backpack.
"The backpack is commonly associated with tactical gear," Jason Hebrard, agent in charge with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, testified.
Those videos also detailed the suspect's nearly direct route to the Table Mesa King Soopers on March 22, 2021.
"In this case, it was approximately 23 minutes," Hebrard added.
