Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, who was responsible for the deaths of 10 individuals during a mass shooting at a Boulder, Colorado, King Soopers grocery store on March 22, 2021, is set to be sentenced on Monday. A jury has convicted him of first-degree murder, rejecting his plea of insanity.
The jury, after deliberating for just over five and a half hours, determined that Alissa, 25, was legally sane when he committed the attack. Alongside the murder charges, he was found guilty of 45 additional felonies, including attempted murder and assault, and was charged with using a large-capacity magazine in the commission of the crimes.
While Alissa’s defense team did not dispute his role in the shooting, they argued that he was suffering from severe mental illness at the time. Jurors were tasked with deciding whether he possessed the ability to form intent or recognize right from wrong.
In a poignant statement before the sentencing, Nikolina Stanisic spoke about her brother Neven, one of the victims, describing him as “a caring, kind, and selfless person.” She expressed the deep void left in her family’s life since his passing.
The trial featured 10 days of testimony, during which prosecutors maintained that Alissa was sane when he carried out the shooting, despite his later diagnosis of schizophrenia. Initially deemed incompetent to stand trial in 2021, he was later found competent in 2023 after receiving treatment.
In closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Ken Kupfner remarked, “The evidence is clear. The events of March 22 are not in dispute; they were captured on video.” He argued that Alissa acted with premeditation and intent, stating, “He is not insane.”
Conversely, defense attorney Kathryn Herold argued that Alissa’s actions were the result of his mental illness. “This tragedy was caused by disease, not choice,” she said, emphasizing that the shooting would not have occurred if not for his psychosis.