Colorado Walmart shooting victims ID'd as grandparents, young dad
DENVER -- The three people who died in the shooting at a suburban Denver Walmart were identified after police took suspect Scott Ostrem, 47, into custody. One was a grandfather, another was a grandmother, and the third was a young father with another child on the way.
The victims were identified by the Adams & Broomfield counties coroner.
A grandfather who loved adventure
Carlos Moreno, 66, was a grandfather, a longtime maintenance worker at a group of universities in downtown Denver, a Broncos fan, avid fisherman and fan of exploring and adventure.
He took his large family on trips to the mountains near Rocky Mountain National Park to look for wildlife and to Sea World in Texas, according to a cousin, Russ Cordova.
"A very loving, passionate and sociable person," Cordova said of Moreno. "People just navigated toward him and latched onto him. He'd just take them under his wing."
Moreno worked as a structural trades technician at the Auraria Higher Education Center at the southern edge of downtown Denver, said center spokesman Blaine Nickerson.
Nickerson said his death "leaves a big hole in both his department and the campus as a whole."
"He always had a smile on his face. He often had a road runners hat from Metro State University, again he took a lot of pride in the campus, was a very can-do attitude kind of person and genuinely cared about what we were doing with the students and staff here on campus," Nickerson told CBS Denver.
"Her smile is contagious"
Pamela Marques, 52, was a proud mother and grandmother whose life revolved around her daughter and granddaughters, said Marques' niece Anntionette Marques.
"They were her life," she said in a Facebook message. "She's generous, caring, ... and her smile is contagious."
Marques' daughter is in disbelief following her mother's death, Anntionette Marques said.
Pamela Marques was with her husband at the Walmart when she was fatally shot, Anntionette Marques said.
A young father with another on the way
Victor Vasquez, 26, had two young daughters and a third child on the way when he was killed at the Walmart, according to a GoFundMe page set up to collect donations for his family.
"The loss of Victor Vasquez is a shock and he is leaving behind 2 beautiful girls, his fiancé Alexis who is pregnant due in January and a loving family," the GoFundMe page read.
