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Wednesday, 25 December 2024

Boulder shooting suspect makes first court appearance

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Boulder shooting suspect makes first court appearance
Boulder shooting suspect makes first court appearance

[NFA] A judge in Boulder, Colorado, on Thursday ordered the man accused of fatally shooting 10 people this week to be held without bail.

This report produced by Chris Dignam.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was wheeled into Boulder County court on Thursday, where a judge ordered the 21-year-old accused of fatally shooting 10 people at a Colorado supermarket to be held without bail while he undergoes a mental health assessment requested by his lawyers.

DEFENSE ATTORNEY KATHRYN HEROLD: "Our position is that we cannot do anything until we are able fully to assess Mr. Alissa's mental illness.

We cannot begin to assess the nature and depth of Mr. Alissa's mental illness until we have the discovery from the government." Alissa faces 10 counts of murder and one attempted murder charge stemming from the rampage on Monday at King Soopers grocery store.

JUDGE THOMAS MULVAHILL: "You have the right to be informed of the nature of the charges.

You have the right to a jury trial... Sir, do you understand those rights as I've explained them to you this morning?

We need you to answer out loud please." ALISSA: "Yes." MULVAHILL: "Okay.

And, for the record, he answered affirmatively." The mental health assessment requested by Alissa's defense lawyers would likely push back his preliminary court hearing by a couple of months.

"We will be filing additional charges in the next couple weeks." District Attorney Michael Dougherty told the judge he'd be filing more charges against Alissa, as the investigation was ongoing.

Police have not yet publicly identified a motive for the killings.

Monday's bloodshed was the nation's second mass shooting in less than a week, after a gunman fatally shot eight people at three Atlanta-area day spas on March 16.

Separately, on Wednesday, police arrested a 23-year-old suspect wearing body armor and carrying five guns inside a grocery store in Atlanta, according to local television reports.

Police said the suspect was charged with reckless conduct and taken to jail for processing.

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