Ali Aliwi Alissa: Boulder shooting suspect's brother said he was ‘very anti-social’, felt he was ‘being chased’
Gunshots sent shivers down the spine of people at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, as an active shooter unleashed a barrage of bullets. At around 2.40 pm on March 22, 2021, officers were deployed to 3600 Table Mesa Drive after the horrific incident was reported.
Hours later, on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, the shooting suspect was identified by the Boulder police department as Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, of Arvada. In a statement released by the department, they narrated the timeline. “Officers arrived on the scene within minutes and immediately entered the store. There was an exchange of gunfire during which the suspect was shot,” it read.
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The statement further read, “The suspect was taken into custody at 3.28 pm.” Charged with 10 counts of murder in the first degree, he was first transported to the hospital and was reported to be in stable condition. Alissa will be transported to the Boulder County Jail, the department said.
Ali Aliwi Alissa: ‘Very anti-social’
The horrific footage was live-streamed on social media and the suspect was escorted by officers — shirtless, wearing shorts with no shoes on. Traces of blood were seen on his leg. Authorities said that a motive for the crime had not been established yet. They said, “It is premature for us to draw any conclusions at this point in time.”
The suspect's brother Ali Aliwi Alissa spoke to The Daily Beast in an exclusive interview and admitted Ahmad was mentally ill. Calling him “very anti-social” and “paranoid”, Alissa recalled how he often described “being chased” in high school and said, “someone is behind him, someone is looking for him.”
Disclosing a shocking incident from Ahmad's past, Ali Aliwi Alissa said, “When he was having lunch with my sister in a restaurant, he said, ‘People are in the parking lot, they are looking for me.’ She went out, and there was no one. We didn’t know what was going on in his head.”
‘Racist Islamophobic people hacking my phone’
Ahmad was born in Syria in 1999 and came to USA in 2002. If reports are to be believed, Ahmad allegedly shared the hashtag “NeedAGirlfriend” and posted memes about video games on Facebook. Not just that, he also wrote “racist Islamophobic people” were "hacking my phone” and stopping him from having a "normal life.” During the press conference, the victims were also identified, whose ages ranged from 20 to 65. The names were revealed to be Denny Strong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowika, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; Jody Waters, 65.
With tears in her eyes, Boulder Police Chief Maris Harold said, “I want to say to the community, I am so sorry this incident happened,” adding, “and we are going to do everything in our power to make sure this suspect has a thorough trial and we do a thorough investigation.”
Colorado Governor Jared Polis said at a press conference, “I wish I could stand here and promise that pain will heal quickly... But it won’t... At times like this, it's hard to see the light that shines through the darkness.” He added, “Not only did we lose ten lives, this is real horror and terror.”