Interview with deaf employee who worked near King Soopers during shooting

Alex: It has been a little over two weeks since the mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado at a King Soopers supermarket. I was able to interview Lupe Correa, a deaf woman who worked at a Whole Foods store in the same shopping plaza.

LUPE CORREA: Hello. My name is Lupe. I work in Boulder, Colorado.

Alex: She was working when the shooting broke out.

LUPE CORREA: There was a customer waiting outside who sent an order. I put it in their car, but I couldn’t hear it while the shooting was happening. I couldn't hear it. After that, I was walking back and as I went to work…

[Full screen images of King Soopers area]

LUPE CORREA: I was wearing a hearing aid and heard something loud. It was the sirens, and police were all over the place. Team members were staring, and everyone was staring at something happening. They said there was a shooting at King Soopers? What? Right there? Yes. We felt scared. The police kept driving by, and I noticed there was a small group ducking in the parking lot. It was scary.

Alex: Lupe said three employees from King Soopers came into Whole Foods. Later, police officers told everyone to lock down and Lupe went into a three-hour lockdown, and she was crouched down next to a King Soopers worker.

[Full screen images & video clips of King Soopers area]

LUPE CORREA:

One King Soopers worker actually came to me, and stood next to me. Luckily I had a badge to tell her “I’m deaf”. I said I’m deaf, and then I decided to type in my phone. I said “are you all right?” She looked at it, clutched her chest, and I could see tears in her eyes. Whew. Then she said thank you in sign language. She asked me if she could use my phone. I said sure, and she called her children to tell them she’s safe.

Alex: Lupe said after the lockdown ended and she was cleared to go home, she still didn’t fully understand what happened. She later found out that there were deaths. She said she broke down in tears the next day, but went back to work. She said at the store, it was very sad and tense. After work, she walked up to a memorial by King Soopers.

LUPE CORREA: I decided to see what it looked like there. I walked by, and wow. There was a fance, and cars were still parked there, investigators were there. There were full flower signs, and some angry messages about banning guns, prayers, and names of victims. I cried there. I was deeply touched.

[Three full screen images of King Soopers area]

[video clip of King Soopers area]

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Alex: She said she decided to take a break from work and just returned to work on Sunday. She said she’s still struggling, but has benefited from getting therapy.

LUPE CORREA: I’m doing a little bit better. I saw National Deaf Therapy (NDT) last Monday, and I felt better. My work, Whole Foods, did immediately provide counseling the next day, but I didn’t feel a connection because that person was hearing and I didn’t feel a connection due to them not understanding my language, and my ASL. It didn’t work for me, so I finally saw NDT last Monday and I feel a little bit better.

Alex: Lupe said there have been too many shootings in Colorado.

LUPE CORREA: There’s so many. There’s too many to count. For example, there was Las Vegas… I can’t remember what year it was, but Columbine High School was here in Colorado years ago. And two or three years ago - I used to work there - it happened in Cherry Creek school district. I wasn’t at the same school, I was working at a different school. A shooting happened in a high school! And the Aurora movie theater shooting. How many times? Too many. We lost count. Too many. Enough is enough.

[Full screen images]

Alex: Thank you for your time, Lupe Correa, and our thoughts are with you and everyone in Boulder as you continue to recover from the tragic events of two weeks ago.