Boulder reflects on painful 1-year milestone of King Soopers shooting

What they're saying:

• "It's definitely been a rough year, trying to grow from that and learn from all those experiences ... It's not getting any easier, and it never will be honestly, without her," Matisse Molina, whose friend Tralona Bartkowiak was killed, told the Denver Gazette.
• "One of the biggest things I had to wrap my brain around is that it's not something that is ever really going to disappear from me," survivor Louis Saxton, a sophomore at the University of Colorado Boulder, told the Denver Post. "It's not ever going to be something I can just brush off, where if someone brings it up I won't feel a wave of emotions."
• "We've had officers ... who have retired early and left in part or in large part because of last year's tragedy," which took the life of Eric Talley, the first law enforcement officer to arrive on the scene, Boulder police spokesperson Dionne Waugh told the Denver Gazette.
• But the agency also has "had people join the profession inspired to protect their community because of Eric's sacrifice," Waugh noted.

Of note: Memorial events are scheduled across Boulder today, including a citywide moment of silence, a gathering near the intersection of Broadway and Canyon Boulevard, and a public commemoration for officer Talley.

• "It's a profound moment for our community," Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett told CPR. "So at the memorial … I'm hoping that we can come together and mourn together but also offer a chance for community and healing, so we can be with our neighbors and be with our friends and it can be a moment where we can all help each other."
• Information about other private events will be posted on the Boulder Strong website.

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