BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — The suspect in the Colorado supermarket shooting appeared in court for the first time Thursday, and a defense attorney immediately asked that he receive a mental health evaluation before the case against him proceeds.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, did not speak during the brief hearing except to say “yes” to a question from the judge, who advised him that he is charged with murder in the attack that killed 10 people, including a Boulder police officer. Alissa is also charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting at another police officer, who was unhurt.
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said authorities planned to file more charges. He did not elaborate.
Alissa did not enter a plea, which will come later in the judicial process. He has been jailed without bail.
The young man entered court in a wheelchair, presumably because of a gunshot wound to the leg that he suffered in Monday’s shooting. He appeared alert and attentive, moving his knees from side to side, his eyes darting back and forth from his lawyers to the judge. He wore a mask and purple, short-sleeved coveralls.
His attorney, public defender Kathryn Herold, provided no details about his health. At Herold’s request, Alissa’s next hearing will not be scheduled for two to three months to allow the defense to evaluate his mental state and evidence collected by investigators.
“Our position is we cannot do anything until we are able to fully assess Mr. Alissa’s mental illness,” Herold said, adding that the defense cannot begin that assessment until it receives evidence from investigators.
A law enforcement official briefed on the shooting previously said that the suspect’s family told investigators they believed Alissa was suffering some type of mental illness, including delusions.
Relatives have described times when Alissa told them people were following or chasing him, which they said may have contributed to the violence, the official said. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Alissa’s legal team includes public defender Daniel King, who represented Colorado theater gunman James Holmes, as well as Robert Dear, who is accused of killing three people in a 2105 attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, two cases in which mental illness was a factor.
Jurors rejected Holmes’ insanity defense in the 2012 shooting at an Aurora movie theater that left a dozen dead. But jurors could not unanimously agree to sentence him to death after his lawyers presented evidence of his schizophrenia as a reason to spare his life. Colorado has since abolished the death penalty, and Holmes is in prison for life.
After repeatedly being found incompetent to stand trial in state court, Dear was charged in federal court, where his competency to stand trial has also slowed proceedings.
During the court proceedings, five deputies with black bands of mourning across their badges stood close by. Boulder police tweeted Thursday that they used the handcuffs of the slain officer, Eric Talley, to take the suspect from a hospital to jail earlier this week — and told him so.
“Though this was a small gesture, we hope it is the start of the healing process that so many of us need at this time,” the department said.
Screenshots of what was believed to be Alissa’s Facebook page hint of fears that he was secretly being tracked on his phone and reflect his interest in Islamic teachings, immigration and martial arts. The screenshots and dozens of postings were captured by the online extremist tracking firm SITE Intelligence Group.
In July 2019, Alissa wrote that his phone was being hacked by “racist islamophobic people.” At another point, he wrote that his old high school had likely gotten access to his phone, asking Facebook followers for advice on how to stop it.
Alissa was convicted in 2018 of assaulting a fellow high school student, according to police documents. A former classmate told the AP he was kicked off the wrestling team after yelling he would kill everyone following a loss in a practice match.
After a white supremacist killed 51 people in the 2019 New Zealand mosque massacre, Alissa called the dead “victims of the entire Islamophobia industry that vilified them.” Three months later, he posted a link to a PBS story about how immigrants help the economy, writing, “Why refugees and immigrants are good for America.”
“What Islam is really about,” he wrote in one Facebook post that referred to a list of teachings from the Koran, including to “be good to others” and “restrain anger.”
In other posts, he urged followers to give to charity, described abortion as “disgusting” and said that he opposed gay marriage.
“There was no indication on his Facebook account that suggested radical views of any kind, whether it be Islamist, anti-Trump, or anything else,” said Rita Katz, executive director of SITE, which analyzed the postings. “He did mention Islam on his Facebook, but never to any extremity.”
Thursday’s court appearance was the first time Alissa appeared in public since his arrest Monday inside the King Soopers supermarket. He was last seen handcuffed and being led out of the supermarket by police. He had removed all clothing except his shorts before being taken into custody.
According to two law enforcement officials, Alissa was born in Syria in 1999, emigrated to the U.S. as a toddler and later became a U.S. citizen. He would need to be a citizen to buy a gun. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
An AR-15-style gun recovered inside the supermarket was believed to have been used in the attack, said a law enforcement official briefed on the shooting who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
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BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Hundreds of mourners gathered Wednesday night at a candlelight vigil to remember the 10 people gunned down at a supermarket in a Colorado college town, while the 21-year-old man suspected of carrying out the rampage prepared for his first court appearance Thursday morning.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa has been jailed for investigation of murder since he was arrested inside the King Soopers supermarket in Boulder on Monday and treated at a hospital for a leg wound. He was to hear the pending charges he faces and his rights as a defendant, and he would not be asked for a plea until later in the judicial process.
Alissa was last seen handcuffed and being led out of the supermarket by police. He had removed all clothing except his shorts before being taken into custody. A rifle, a green tactical vest and a handgun were recovered inside the grocery store, according to an arrest affidavit.
While most Colorado court proceedings have been conducted by video during the pandemic, District Judge Thomas Francis Mulvahill ordered Alissa to appear before him in court unless Alissa waives his right to appear in person in writing. The courtroom will be closed to the public.
More than 500 people bundled in winter jackets and wool hats attended a downtown candlelight vigil Wednesday night to mourn the victims and comfort one another. They observed a moment of silence; violins soothed the crowd; a woman sang “Ave Maria” as candle flames flickered in the crisp air. A star-shaped light usually turned on for the holidays glowed on a mountain overlooking the open square.
Michele Weiner-Davis, a Boulder family therapist, offered the community some words of wisdom.
“Whatever you’re feeling, whatever you’re thinking, no matter how uncomfortable, it’s completely natural,” Weiner-Davis said. “Be patient with yourself. Additionally, be just as compassionate with the people in your lives who might also be struggling.”
In addition to Officer Eric Talley, 51, the victims are Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jodi Waters, 65. Leiker, Olds and Stong worked at the supermarket.
Earlier Wednesday, hundreds of people paid their respects during a police procession for Talley as his body was taken to a funeral home in the Denver suburb of Aurora.
Police also announced that people whose cars were left in the supermarket parking lot Monday could retrieve them.
A supermarket employee told the AP she watched as the assailant opened fire and narrowly escaped his notice while joining others in a desperate scramble to get away.
Emily Giffen, 27, was smoking outside the store Monday during a break when she heard multiple loud pops that she knew were not fireworks. She said she saw a man running across an intersection suddenly fall over and another man approach him in a crouch and fire several rounds at close range.
“I don’t know how he didn’t see us,” she said of the suspect, who walked right by her before she ran into the supermarket and out the back.
“I just really am having a hard time understanding why me and my friends deserve to die,” she said, wondering why the gunman chose to target the Boulder store specifically.
According to the arrest affidavit, the suspect bought a Ruger AR-556 pistol — which resembles an AR-15 rifle with a slightly shorter stock — on March 16, six days before the attack. Authorities have not disclosed where the gun was purchased.
According to two law enforcement officials, Alissa was born in Syria in 1999, emigrated to the U.S. as a toddler and later became a U.S. citizen. He would need to be a citizen to buy a gun. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
An AR-15-style gun recovered inside the supermarket was believed to have been used in the attack, said a law enforcement official briefed on the shooting who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
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