Colorado man with ties to Wisconsin says neighborhood's sense of security is broken following mass shooting

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Less than a week after an employee opened fire at the Roundy's distribution center in Oconomowoc, another gunman killed 10 others at a Kroger-owned store in Boulder, Colorado.

There have now been 30 more mass shootings the first three months of this year than last.

The Gun Violence Archive has tracked 103 mass shootings in 2021.

Last year it tracked 611 total, but only 70 in the first three months of the year.

"Our kids go through active shooter drills at school, they came and were watching the story with me yesterday, makes them think about, do I have to be scared to go to school, do I have to be scared to go to the grocery store," said UW Milwaukee Economics Professor Rebecca Neumann.

She grew up in the Boulder area and said many of her family members still live there.

"Many of them are right around the King Soopers that the shooting happened at, so my immediate call yesterday was to my parents," said Neumann.

None of her family members were at the store Monday, but her brother-in-law could have been.

"I'm in that King Soopers easily a dozen times a week, I'm picking up prescriptions, I'm getting lunch meat, oh I forgot tonic, I buzz down and I get tonic, it's 90 seconds away," said Del Shannon.

He said the neighborhood's sense of security is broken.

"I don't think this is unique, I think any community would feel the same way, but to feel it personally, to feel it so dramatically and so closely, it's hard to get your head around," said Shannon.

Kroger sent CBS 58 a statement saying:

"The entire Kroger family offers our thoughts, prayers and support to our associates, customers, and the first responders who so bravely responded to this tragic situation."

Neumann is left looking for answers. More gun restrictions, better mental health opportunities, anything.

"We keep saying these things, and it's year after year after year, and we keep seeing these tragedies over and over," said Neumann.

While President Biden pushes Congress to renew an assault weapons ban, the Wisconsin Gun Owners group said that's the wrong response.

"It's above a million people that own an AR-15 rifle, so overnight you're going to make them criminals, there's a lot of people that aren't going to turn them in," said Executive Director Thomas Leager.

The original assault weapons ban expired nearly 20 years ago. It would ban AR-15 style rifles and high capacity ammunition magazines if renewed.