Gunman found guilty of murder in Colorado supermarket massacre, faces life imprisonment

The incident took place in March 2021 when Alissa began shooting immediately after exiting his vehicle in the supermarket parking lot. Most of the victims were killed within just over a minute before Alissa surrendered after being shot in the leg by a police officer.

Prosecutors were required to demonstrate that Alissa was sane during the attack. They argued that his actions were deliberate and targeted, noting that he pursued individuals who were fleeing or attempting to hide.

At one point, Alissa passed by a 91-year-old man who continued shopping, unaware of the shooting. Prosecutors also highlighted Alissa’s use of steel-piercing bullets and illegal high-capacity magazines, emphasising that these choices indicated he intended to cause maximum harm.

Several of Alissa’s family members, who immigrated to the US from Syria, testified about his deteriorating mental health in the years leading up to the shooting. They described how he became withdrawn, paranoid, and exhibited signs of hearing voices.

His condition reportedly worsened after contracting Covid-19 in late 2020. Alissa was diagnosed with schizophrenia after the attack, with experts confirming that his behaviours were consistent with the onset of the disease.

In this image taken 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. (AP)

State forensic psychologists who evaluated Alissa, however, concluded that he was sane at the time of the shooting. Despite his claims of hearing voices, including “killing voices” right before the attack, the psychologists said Alissa did not experience delusions and knew his actions were wrong, as evidenced by his fear of being jailed or killed by the police. The defence did not present any experts to argue that Alissa was legally insane.

Forensic psychologist B. Thomas Gray testified that while Alissa claimed to hear voices, he failed to provide specific details during nearly six hours of interviews. Gray and his colleague Loandra Torres admitted they were not fully confident in their finding of sanity, largely because Alissa did not offer more information about his experiences, which might have supported his insanity defence.

Under Colorado law, insanity is defined as a mental illness so severe that the individual cannot distinguish right from wrong. Mental illness, however, does not automatically equate to legal insanity.

During the two-week trial, family members of the victims watched graphic footage from surveillance cameras and police body cameras. Survivors also testified, sharing harrowing accounts of their attempts to escape or help others to safety.

Prosecutors did not provide a motive for the attack. They revealed that Alissa initially searched for public locations in Boulder to target, including bars and restaurants, before focusing on large stores the day before the massacre. On the day of the shooting, he drove from his home in Arvada to the first supermarket he found in Boulder, where he shot three victims in the parking lot before entering the store.

One survivor, an emergency room doctor, described crawling onto a shelf and hiding among potato chips, while a pharmacist testified that she heard Alissa say “This is fun” multiple times as he fired his semi-automatic pistol, which resembled an AR-15 rifle, AP reported.

Alissa’s mother told the court she believed her son was “sick,” while his father testified that he thought Alissa was possessed by a jinn, or evil spirit. However, the family did not seek medical treatment for Alissa due to concerns about shame.

(with inputs from AP)