A 22-year-old man accused of killing 10 people in a Colorado supermarket was due to appear in court Tuesday for a hearing to discuss what will happen next in the case.
This hearing will be Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa’s second court appearance since the March 22 attack in Boulder. At her initial hearing, days after the shooting, one of her attorneys, Kathryn Herold, said the defense needed two to three months to evaluate her “mental illness” and the evidence gathered by investigators before proceeding. She did not provide details about her mental health.
A gun shop in Arvada confirms that the alleged attacker in the Boulder shooting purchased a gun there and passed a criminal background check, thus acquiring the rifle legally.
A police official briefed on the shooting previously said that the suspect’s family told investigators they believed Alissa suffered from some form of mental illness, including delusions. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Alissa is accused of killing nine shoppers and workers inside and outside the store, as well as one of the first three police officers to enter the store. He has also been charged with attempted first-degree murder for allegedly shooting 26 other people, including 11 law enforcement officers. He is also charged with illegally possessing 10 high-capacity ammunition magazines, devices banned in Colorado after previous mass shootings.
This is what the lawyer and criminologist Lester Nieve tells us.
Investigators have not revealed a possible motive for the attack. District Attorney Michael Dougherty has said there was no indication that Alissa, who was from the nearby suburb of Arvada, had visited the supermarket before.