Boulder, Colorado

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A 25-year-old man who killed 10 people in a mass shooting in a grocery store in the US state of Colorado in 2021, was on Monday (Sept 23) convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

According to a report by the news agency Reuters on Tuesday, Syrian-born  Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. The jury instead found him guilty in Boulder District Court on 10 counts of first-degree murder.  

Jurors also found Alissa guilty on dozens of counts of attempted murder and weapons offences.

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The 2021 shooting 

On March 22, 2021, Alissa started shooting immediately after getting out of his car in a King Soopers store parking lot. The store was located in Boulder. 

Alissa shot dead two people in the parking lot before entering the store and killing eight others, including a police officer who responded to the shooting.

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He was 21 at the time of the shooting. Authorities said Alissa was armed with a legally purchased Ruger AR-556 pistol, which resembles an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, when he entered the store.

He killed most of the victims in just over a minute and surrendered after an officer shot him in the leg.

The victims were identified as Eric Talley, Rikki Olds, Teri Leiker, Denny Stong, Suzanne Fountain, Tralona Bartkowiak, Neven Stanisic, Lynn Murray, Jody Waters, and Kevin Mahoney.

'He is methodical and brutal'

Last Friday, District Attorney Michael Dougherty told jurors in closing arguments that Alissa was methodical and brutal. The psychologists and psychiatrists who testified during the trial that began in August agreed that Alissa was diagnosed as a schizophrenic who was profoundly mentally ill. 

But that diagnosis alone did not render a person legally insane, Reuters reported. 

On Monday, after relatives of the victims addressed the court, Judge Ingrid Bakke formally gave Alissa the mandatory sentence under Colorado law of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

It was never in dispute that Alissa carried out the rampage. The case focused on his mental state at the time of the shootings. Under Colorado law, a person must be found to be unable to distinguish between right and wrong for an insanity defence to prevail.

'Hope verdict can provide some peace'

In a statement, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said that Monday's verdict would not "heal the pain so many of us feel, or bring back those who were killed, I hope that it can provide some peace."

"Three years ago our community felt the unbearable pain of losing ten of our fellow Coloradans in a senseless attack on the Boulder community. That day loved ones, friends, and neighbors were taken from us far too soon by an act of pure evil. Today, justice is served," Governor Polis said. 

(With inputs from agencies)