The Latest: Neighbors: Walmart Suspect Unfriendly, Hostile

Updated 10:37 am, Thursday, November 2, 2017

THORNTON, Colo. (AP) — The Latest on the shooting at a Colorado Walmart (all times local):

11:15 a.m.

Neighbors of the man suspected of fatally shooting three people at a suburban Denver Walmart say he was unfriendly and occasionally hostile toward them.

Gerald Burnett says he was sitting on the stairs drinking coffee one morning at his garden-style apartment building in Thornton when Scott Ostrem came down the outdoor stairway. He says Ostrem told him to move and cursed at him.

Teresa Muniz (MUHN’-is) says Ostrem never returned her greetings and once or twice swore at people for sitting in the stairways or leaving laundry in communal machines.

Walmart employees gather together outside away from the scene of the Walmart store where a shooting occurred inside the store, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, in Thornton, Colo. Thornton police tweeted Wednesday night that they were responding to a shooting with “multiple parties down.” They advised people to stay away from the area as dozens of police cruisers and emergency vehicles raced to the scene. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP) less

Emergency crews and police work at the scene in response to a shooting at Walmart in Thornton, Colo., Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017. Police in suburban Denver say they are responding to a shooting at a Walmart with “multiple parties down.” Dozens of police cars and emergency vehicles converged at the store. (John Leyba/The Denver Post via AP) less

Police investigate a shooting at a Walmart store in Thornton, Colo., Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017. Thornton police tweeted Wednesday night that they were responding to a shooting with “multiple parties down.” They advised people to stay away from the area as dozens of police cruisers and emergency vehicles raced to the scene. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via AP) less

Walmart customers and employees are held back while emergency crews and police work on the grounds of Walmart during a shooting in Thornton, Colo., Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017. Police in suburban Denver say they are responding to a shooting at a Walmart with “multiple parties down.” Dozens of police cars and emergency vehicles converged at the store. (John Leyba/The Denver Post via AP) less

Photo: John Leyba, AP

Image 5 of 16

Employees exit the parking lot after a gunman opened fire inside of Walmart in Thornton, Colo., Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2017. Thornton police tweeted Wednesday night that they were responding to a shooting with “multiple parties down.” They advised people to stay away from the area as dozens of police cruisers and emergency vehicles raced to the scene. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via AP) less

Photo: AAron Ontiveroz, AP

Image 6 of 16

Darlene Jackson sits on an overturned shopping cart as she and fellow shoppers and employees gather outside after a gunman opened fire in Walmart in Thornton, Colo., Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2017. Police in Thornton announced the shooting in a tweet Wednesday evening and advised people to stay away from the area. Dozens of police cars and emergency vehicles converged at the store. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via AP) less

Photo: AAron Ontiveroz, AP

Image 7 of 16

Police guard the front entrance to Walmart where a shooting occurred inside the store, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, in Thornton, Colo. Thornton police tweeted Wednesday night that they were responding to a shooting with “multiple parties down.” They advised people to stay away from the area as dozens of police cruisers and emergency vehicles raced to the scene. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP) less

Photo: Helen H. Richardson, AP

Image 8 of 16

People watch police activity at the scene of a shooting inside Walmart, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, in Thornton, Colo. Thornton police tweeted Wednesday night that they were responding to a shooting with “multiple parties down.” They advised people to stay away from the area as dozens of police cruisers and emergency vehicles raced to the scene. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP) less

Photo: Helen H. Richardson, AP

Image 9 of 16

A father and his scared daughter, who were customers inside Walmart, are escorted out of the parking lot and away from the scene of the Walmart store where a shooting occurred inside the store, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, in Thornton, Colo. Thornton police tweeted Wednesday night that they were responding to a shooting with “multiple parties down.” They advised people to stay away from the area as dozens of police cruisers and emergency vehicles raced to the scene. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP) less

Photo: Helen H. Richardson, AP

Image 10 of 16

People stand across the street from a shooting investigation at a Walmart store, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, in Thornton, Colo. Several people were killed in a shooting inside a suburban Denver Walmart on Wednesday night, forcing customers to either hide in the store or frantically run for the doors. Thornton police advised people to stay away from the area as dozens of police cruisers and emergency vehicles raced to the scene. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via AP) less

Photo: Andy Cross, AP

Image 11 of 16

This Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, image released by the Thornton Police Department shows shooting suspect Scott Ostrem at a Walmart in Thornton, Colo. Colorado authorities identified Ostrema as the man who police say nonchalantly walked into the Walmart and immediately opened fire with a handgun, killing several. (Thornton Police Department via AP) less

Photo: AP

Image 12 of 16

Several people were killed in a shooting inside a Walmart, forcing customers to either hide in the store or frantically run for the doors, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, in Thornton, Colo. Thornton police advised people to stay away from the area as dozens of police cruisers and emergency vehicles raced to the scene. less

Photo: P. Solomon Banda, AP

Image 13 of 16

Photo: P. Solomon Banda, AP

Image 14 of 16

Photo: P. Solomon Banda, AP

Image 15 of 16

Walmart employees and customers that were inside the store wait to hear what to do from police as they stand behind police tape outside of a Walmart store where several people were killed in a shooting, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, in Thornton, Colo. Investigators, who have not released any details about the circumstances of the shooting, were reviewing security footage and interviewing witnesses to get a description of the shooter. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP) less

Photo: Helen H. Richardson, AP

Image 16 of 16

She says she sometimes saw him carrying a bow and set of arrows or a shotgun into or out of his apartment.

She says most people in the building know one another but she never even knew Ostrem’s name until now.

_____

10:40 a.m.

Police say a man suspected of fatally shooting three people inside a Colorado Walmart has a minor criminal record.

Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila said Thursday that 47-year-old Scott Ostrem had a minor criminal history, but Avila didn’t elaborate.

Court records show a resisting arrest charge against Ostrem was dismissed in 1999.

Court records also show Ostrem filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2015.

Ostrem was arrested Thursday, about 14 hours after the shooting inside a Walmart in the Denver suburb of Thornton.

Two men died inside the Walmart, and a woman died later at a hospital.

A motive for the shooting was unknown.

___

9:45 a.m.

Police say a man suspected of fatally shooting three people inside a suburban Denver Walmart tried to flee officers in his car but was blocked by traffic.

Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila said Thursday that 47-year-old Scott Ostrem was arrested without incident after a brief chase that started near an apartment about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the Walmart store.

Avila says police went to the apartment and didn’t find Ostrem. But they got an anonymous tip that he was driving in the area and spotted him.

Police took Ostrem into custody after his car was blocked by traffic at an intersection. Avila declined to say if Ostrem was armed.

He says a motive for the shooting is unknown.

Two men died inside the Walmart, which is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Denver in a busy shopping center. A woman died later at a hospital.

This story has been corrected to show that the tip was that the suspect was driving a car in the area.

____

9:20 a.m.

Police say a man suspected of fatally shooting three people inside a suburban Denver Walmart tried to flee officers in his car but was blocked by traffic.

Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila said Thursday that 47-year-old Scott Ostrem was arrested without incident after a brief chase that started at a Thornton apartment.

Avila says police received an anonymous tip that led them to the apartment, which is about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the Walmart store where the shooting took place late Wednesday.

Police took Ostrem into custody after his car was blocked by traffic at an intersection. Avila declined to say if Ostrem was armed.

He says a motive for the shooting is unknown.

Two men died inside the Walmart, which is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Denver in a busy shopping center. A woman died later at a hospital.

___

8:20 a.m.

Police say they’ve arrested a man suspected of walking into a suburban Denver Walmart and immediately opening fire with a handgun, killing two men and a woman Wednesday night.

Thornton police say 47-year-old Scott Ostrem was arrested Thursday morning, about 14 hours after he fled the store in a car. Authorities used security video to help identify him.

Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila said Wednesday night that the shooting appears random and there are no indications that it was an act of terror.

He says the motive is unknown.

Two men died inside the Walmart, which is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Denver in a busy shopping center. The woman died later at a hospital.

_____

6:58 a.m.

Colorado authorities have identified a man who police say nonchalantly walked into a Walmart and immediately opened fire, killing two men and a woman Wednesday night.

Thornton police are searching for 47-year-old Scott Ostrem, who they say fled in a car before officers arrived. Authorities used security video to help identify the suspect.

Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila says the shooting appears to be random and there are no indications that it was an act of terror.

Customers and employees hid or fled toward the exits after gunshots rang out in Thornton, a suburb of Denver. Avila says he doesn’t know how many rounds were fired.

Two men died at the store, and the woman died at a hospital. Authorities did not immediately release any other information about the victims.

___

11:53 p.m.

Colorado authorities are searching for a man who police say nonchalantly walked into a Walmart and immediately opened fire, killing two men and a woman Wednesday night.

Thornton police spokesman Victor Avila says the shooting appears to be random and there are no indications that it was an act of terror.

Customers and employees hid or fled toward the exits after gunshots rang out in Thornton, which is a suburb of Denver. Avila says he doesn’t know how many rounds were fired.

Authorities are reviewing security video to identify the suspect, who fled in a car before officers arrived.

Two men died at the store, and the woman died at a hospital. Authorities did not immediately release any other information about the victims.