Gunman who killed 10 people in supermarket found guilty of murder

In this image from video provided by the Colorado Judicial Branch, Ahmad Alissa, third from left, stands for the verdict in his trial for the 2021 Colorado supermarket shootings, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. (Colorado Judicial Branch via AP)

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A mentally ill man who killed 10 people at a Colorado supermarket was convicted of murder Monday by a jury that rejected his bid to avoid prison time by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.

Relatives of the victims have recounted in painful testimonies the lives destroyed by gunman Ahmad Alissa in the 2021 attack in the college town of Boulder.

Nikolena Stanisic, whose only brother, Neven, was killed, recalled going for ice cream with her brother the night before he was shot and how he sometimes helped her pay her bills. She told the court that their home, once filled with talk and laughter, is now almost silent.

“To the person who did this, we hope they suffer for the rest of their life. You are a coward.” Stanisic said. “I hope this haunts the defendant until the end of time. The defendant deserves the worst.”

Defense attorneys did not dispute that Alissa, who suffered from schizophrenia, shot and killed 10 people, including a police officer. But the defense argued that he was insane at the time of the attack and could not distinguish right from wrong.

In addition to 10 counts of first-degree murder, the jury convicted Alissa of 38 counts of attempted murder, one count of assault and six counts of possession of illegal high-capacity magazines.

First-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence in Colorado, and the sentencing hearing immediately followed Monday’s verdict.

Alissa did not appear to react as the judge began reciting the guilty verdicts against him. He sat at a table with his lawyers and appeared to exchange notes with members of the defense team, sometimes speaking in a whisper with one of his lawyers.

Judge Ingrid Bakke had warned against any outburst of anger. Tears and suppressed sobs were heard from the victims’ side as the murder sentences were read out.

The courtroom was filled largely with victims’ families and police officers, including those targeted by Alissa. Several of Alissa’s family members sat directly behind him.

Alissa began shooting immediately after getting out of his car in the parking lot of a King Soopers store in March 2021. He killed most of the victims in just over a minute and surrendered after a police officer shot him in the leg.

Erika Mahoney was in California, six months pregnant, when she learned of the attack in which her father was killed. She was so distraught she thought she was going to lose her baby, Mahoney told the court.

Mahoney said she wanted an apology or remorse from the shooter or his family, but has not received one.

“The door is always open” she said. “In the meantime, I will begin: I am sorry for your suffering, past, present and future… I wish you had received more love.”

Until the trial, Mahoney said, she prayed that her father’s final moments would be painless and that he would not know he was dying. However, video of the attack showed that there was a chase and that Kevin Mahoney tried to run away but found no place to run, Erika Mahoney said.

Alissa sometimes looked at the victims’ relatives as they spoke. Most of the time, he sat hunched over, talking to his lawyer or writing.

Prosecutors had to prove Alissa was sane. They argued that he did not fire randomly and that he had shown the ability to make decisions by chasing people who were running and trying to hide from him. He twice walked past a 91-year-old man who was still shopping, unaware that gunshots had been fired.

He arrived armed with armor-piercing bullets and illegal magazines that could hold 30 rounds, which prosecutors say shows he took deliberate steps to make the attack as deadly as possible.

Several family members of Alissa, who immigrated to the United States from Syria, testified that he had become withdrawn and less vocal in the years before the shooting. He then began acting paranoid and showed signs of hearing voices, they said, and his condition worsened after he contracted COVID-19 in late 2020.

Alissa was diagnosed with schizophrenia after the attack, and experts said the behaviors described by relatives are consistent with the onset of the illness.

State forensic psychologists who examined Alissa concluded that he was sane at the time of the shooting. The defense did not have to provide evidence in the case and did not present any experts to argue that Alissa was insane.

Despite hearing voices, state psychologists said Alissa was not delusional. They said his fear of being imprisoned or killed by police showed Alissa knew his actions were wrong.

Alissa repeatedly told psychologists that he heard voices, including “kill voices” just before the shooting. But Alissa failed to provide further details about the voices or say whether they were saying anything specific during the six-hour interview, forensic psychologist B. Thomas Gray testified.

Mental illness is not the same as insanity. Colorado law defines insanity as a mental illness so severe that it is impossible for a person to distinguish right from wrong.

Family members of the victims attended the two-week trial and were shown surveillance and police body camera footage. Survivors testified about how they fled and, in some cases, helped others reach safety.

Prosecutors have not offered a motive for the shooting. Alissa initially searched the Internet for public places to attack in Boulder, including bars and restaurants, and then, the day before the shooting, focused his search on department stores.

On the day of the attack, he left his home in the Denver suburb of Arvada and stopped at the first supermarket he came across in Boulder. He shot three victims in the parking lot before entering the store.

An emergency room doctor said she crawled onto a shelf and hid among bags of chips. A pharmacist who took cover testified she heard Alissa say “It’s fun” at least three times as he walked through the store, firing his semi-automatic pistol that resembled an AR-15 rifle.

Alissa’s mother told the court she believed her son was “sick.” His father testified that he believed Alissa was possessed by a djin, or evil spirit, but that he did not seek any treatment for his son because it would have brought shame on the family.

Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement after the verdict that justice had been served, but it would not heal the pain or bring back to life those who were killed. “Loved ones, friends and neighbors were taken from us far too soon in an act of pure wickedness,” he said.

Today’s latest news and more delivered to your inbox