DENVER – The suspect accused of shooting and killing 10 people at a King Soopers in Boulder on Monday had bought an AR-style pistol last week and was wearing a tactical vest during the shooting, according to an affidavit for his arrest.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, was identified as the suspect in the mass shooting Tuesday morning by the Boulder police chief. District Attorney Michael Dougherty said that the affidavit for Alissa’s arrest would be released after he was released from the hospital Tuesday and taken to the Boulder County jail.
Police released the affidavit just before 11 a.m. Tuesday. The five-page document describes some of the calls made to dispatch, how Alissa was taken in to custody, and an interview with a family member of his in Arvada.
The affidavit says multiple people called 911 to report the shooting around 2:40 p.m. Monday. One caller said they had seen Alissa shoot the window out of a vehicle and pursue another man. Others described the suspect as “chubby” and said he had shot people both outside and inside of the store.
Employees told a detective they had first seen Alissa shoot an older man in the parking lot of the store multiple times.
When more officers arrived on the scene, one found Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley deceased inside the store and saw the suspect, who was shooting at him with an assault rifle, according to the affidavit.
Officers dragged Talley out of the store after SWAT officers entered the building. Shortly afterward, one of the responding officers heard people shouting inside and saw Alissa walking backward toward the SWAT team to be arrested.
The affidavit says that he had taken off all of his clothes except for a pair of shorts and was bleeding on his right leg due to a through-and-through gunshot wound.
When officers asked him if there were any other suspects, he did not answer but instead asked for his mother, according to the affidavit.
He was taken into custody at 3:28 p.m. inside the store. The document says that Alissa had put down his gear inside the store, which included a tactical vest, a rifle that the affidavit says was a “possible AR-15,” a semiautomatic handgun, a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve shirt.
Police found a black Mercedes sedan in the parking lot of the store next to a vehicle in which a person had been killed. The Mercedes had a rifle case in its front passenger area, the affidavit says.
Officers also conducted surveillance at the home in which Alissa lives in Arvada on Monday night, and pulled over a woman married to the brother of Alissa, according to the affidavit. She told officers who interviewed her that she had seen Alissa playing with what she believed looked like a “machine gun” in recent days, the document says.
Investigators used law enforcement databases to determine that Alissa had bought a Ruger AR-556 pistol on March 16 – a weapon that can carry 10 or 30 rounds, according to some manufacturers, and can have a stock and extended barrel.
The affidavit says that Alissa was charged with third-degree assault in Arvada in November 2018. An additional affidavit obtained from the Arvada Police Department says Alissa was charged for punching another student repeatedly in class at Arvada West High School. The student who was hit said he and Alissa used to be friends and he didn't know why Alissa punched him, the affidavit says. Police interviewed 27 witnesses who all said the attack was unprovoked.
In a written statement from Alissa regarding the incident, he claimed the student he hit had been bullying him for a year, called him racists names and called him a terrorist and a nerd, according to the affidavit. Alissa's written statement also said he "could not take it anymore, so I blacked out and rushed him."
Alissa will face 10 counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder in connection with Monday’s shooting, according to an affidavit.
Police identified the 10 people killed in the shooting on Tuesday morning. They include two King Soopers employees, Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley, and seven others ranging from ages 20 to 65.
