BOULDER, Colo. – The man accused of fatally shooting 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in 2021 was found to have untreated mental illness, according to state experts. Lawyers revealed on Tuesday that Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, the suspect in the case, was deemed legally sane at the time of the attack.
During a court hearing, it was disclosed that the results of the sanity evaluation conducted at the state mental hospital are not public. Alissa, who appeared in court in jail attire and restraints, and family members of the victims were present during the discussion.
According to the defense, evaluators determined that the attack would not have occurred if it were not for Alissa’s untreated mental illness, which was described as schizophrenia with auditory hallucinations. The defense attorney, Sam Dunn, mentioned that the evaluators expressed less confidence in their sanity conclusion in this case compared to others.
Prosecutors did not provide their own detailed assessment of the evaluation findings during the hearing. District Attorney Michael Dougherty refrained from commenting specifically on the defense’s portrayal of the evaluation’s outcomes.
Alissa has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in connection to the March 22, 2021, shooting at a King Soopers store in Boulder. The plea indicates that Alissa’s legal team argues he was unable to distinguish between right and wrong at the time of the shooting, thus should not be convicted of a crime.
It was revealed that Alissa extensively researched how to carry out a mass shooting before executing his attack, targeting people in motion. The majority of the 10 victims were killed in a span of just over a minute using a firearm equipped with a high-capacity magazine.
Alissa’s mental health condition was brought to attention by his lawyers soon after the shooting. The debate over his mental competency to stand trial, which encompasses understanding court proceedings and aiding in his defense, led to a two-year hiatus in legal proceedings. Following a period of forced medication and a ruling of mental competence, Alissa entered the not guilty by reason of insanity plea in November.
Despite the defense’s call for a trial delay until March 2025 to conduct a second sanity evaluation by their expert, the judge granted only a one-month postponement. The trial is now scheduled to commence on September 2, amid objections from the victims’ families. stmt_SEP5_21