- Police identified Ahmad Alissa, 21, as the suspect in the mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado.
- Alissa is accused of gunning down 10 people at a King Soopers market on Monday.
- Authorities said he was injured in the shooting but was in stable condition as of Tuesday morning.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
The police identified Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa as the suspect in the mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, on Monday, Police Chief Maris Herold said.
Alissa, 21, was injured in the shooting and is in stable condition, the police said. He has been charged with 10 counts of murder.
He is expected to be released from the hospital and jailed later Tuesday, authorities said.
“We are going to do everything in our power to make sure this suspect has a thorough trial,” Herold said.
—Boulder Police Dept. (@boulderpolice) March 23, 2021
Authorities said the police had not yet identified a motive. Court documents said Alissa had purchased a rifle six days earlier, The Associated Press reported.
Helicopter footage on Monday showed a man being taken from the store.
In an affidavit for an arrest warrant reviewed by Insider, Detective Sarah Cantu wrote that Alissa had removed all his clothing and was dressed only in shorts when he was arrested outside the market. He had blood on his right thigh.
Alissa is from Arvada, a city 30 minutes south of Boulder. CNN reported that Alissa was born in Syria in 1999, and that his family immigrated to the US in 2002.
The affidavit said a woman who recently married Alissa’s older brother told the police that she had seen him in the family’s home a few days earlier playing with a weapon she described as a “machine gun.”
Investigators learned that Alissa had purchased a Ruger AR-556 pistol on March 16, the affidavit said.
Alissa’s brother, Ali Aliwi Alissa, told The Daily Beast that Alissa had a history of paranoia.
“The guy used to get bullied a lot in high school, he was like an outgoing kid but after he went to high school and got bullied a lot, he started becoming anti-social,” Alissa’s brother told The Daily Beast.
It was not clear whether Alissa had been diagnosed with a mental illness, and authorities have not disclosed a motive. Researchers have long said that mental illness is not an indicator of violence; people with mental illnesses are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrate it.
Alissa had shared photos of himself in high-school wrestling gear on social media.
Facebook has since deleted his accounts there and on Instagram.
A former wrestling teammate of Alissa’s identified only as Conrad told The Daily Beast that he was surprised by the news but described Alissa as having a temper.
“One thing I can tell you is he didn’t take losing very well,” the man said. “I remember that in wrestling. He would throw his headgear, wouldn’t talk to the coaches when he lost. If I remember correctly, even cussed out one of the coaches one time.”
The victims in the shooting have been identified as Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Eric Talley, 51, a police officer; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65.
“The killer, his name will live in infamy,” District Attorney Michael Dougherty said. “Today let us remember the victims.”