21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa from Arvada has been indentified as the suspect in the Boulder King Soopers mass shooting which left 10 victims dead, including a police officer, on March 22, as we reported last night.
Ahmad has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder according to Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold, and the motive behind the attack is still unknown. However, the FBI’s efforts to unveil the shooter’s motive are ongoing.
In a video taken at the scene, Ahmad man is seen being escorted outside of the supermarket in handcuffs, shirtless, wearing only shorts, with his right leg covered in blood, later revealed to be caused by a gunshot. The suspect’s wound was treated, and he will reportedly be admitted to the county jail later today.
The scene at King Sooper's Grocery store after a gunman opened fire on March 22 - Chet Strange/Getty Images
Herold provided details of the events that took place on Monday at a press conference following the shooting.
"Regarding the suspect, at approximately 2:40 P.M. Monday, March 22, officers were dispatched to Kings Soopers. They arrived on the scene within minutes and immediately entered the store and engaged the suspect. There was an exchange of gunfire. The suspect was shot and a number of other officers were injured," Herold said.
Chief Herold also identified all of the names of the victims from the shooting:
Denny Strong, 20
Neven Stanisic, 23
Rikki Olds, 25
Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
Suzanne Fountain, 59
Terry Leiker, 51
Officer Eric Talley, 51
Kevin Mahoney, 61
Lynn Murray, 62
Jody Waters, 65
"I want to say to the community, I'm so sorry this incident happened. And we're going to do everything in our power to make sure the suspect has a thorough trial and we do a thorough investigation," Herold added.
The suspect, according to The Denver Post, had run-ins with law enforcement in the past, as he previously attacked a classmate at Arvada West High School in 2018, according to an affidavit filed in the case. The report reads that Ahmad punched the classmate without warning in the back of the head before proceeding to pummel him more. Arvada Police Detective Dave Snelling also confirmed that they've had previous interactions with Ahmad locally, including "criminal mischief."
This is the second shooting we've reported on within the span of a week. On March 16, eight people died in the Atlanta spa shooting and six victims were women of Asian descent. The shooting suspect, Aaron Long, said the attacks were driven by his sex addiction, while the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said it will no longer be providing updates on the shooting to preserve the case for prosecution.
