Who is Ahmad Al Aliwi Al-Issa? Schizophrenic Colorado supermarket shooter ‘mentally competent’ for trial
BOULDER, COLORADO:Ahmad Al Aliwi Al-Issa, who allegedly opened fire at Colorado Supermarket 'King Soopers' on March 22, 2021, killing 10 people and injuring several others, is deemed mentally fit to stand trial.
He was arrested by a SWAT team soon after the incident and taken into custody. However, authorities have not yet disclosed his motive behind the shooting.
How did Ahmad Al Aliwi Al-Issa's mental health affect his trial?
Alissa, who has schizophrenia, was initially found incompetent for trial due to his mental health issues and inability or refusal to communicate clearly about the allegations against him.
He was admitted to the state hospital in December 2021 and forced to take medication under a court order.
On Friday, October 6, Judge Ingrid Bakke ruled that Al-Issa, 24, is mentally competent to stand trial and able to understand court proceedings and contribute to his own defense.
Bakke presided over a hearing last week to consider an August determination by experts at the state hospital that Al-Issa was competent after previous evaluations found otherwise, as per Fox News.
Al-Issa's attorney had asked for a hearing to debate the finding.
Al-Issa has not yet been asked to enter a plea
In her ruling, Bakke said she was convinced that following forced medication, Alissa had a “far improved capacity to elucidate his reasoning and decision-making.”
Al-Issa has not yet been asked to enter a plea. Bakke noted that in the August evaluation, Al-Issa answered questions about the day of the shooting and the offenses alleged against him.
Loandra Torres, a forensic psychologist, who evaluated Al-Issa, testified that Al-Issa said that he bought firearms to commit a mass shooting.
Torres said he also indicated “that there was some intention to commit suicide by cop.”
Ruling provides hope to victims' families
“This decision provides some hope for the victims' families that this case will move forward and that justice will be done,” District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a statement.
“We will never stop fighting for the right outcome in this case,” he said.
Robert Olds, whose 25-year-old niece Rikki Olds was killed in the shooting, heard about the ruling from a friend by text late Friday afternoon, October 6.
“Finally, finally a step in the right direction,” he said of the ruling as per the report.
When is Ahmad Al Aliwi Al-Issa's court appearance?
Now that Al-Issa has been deemed legally competent to participate in proceedings, Bakke is set to hold a November 14 hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to a trial.
Bakke acknowledged that she could not order the state hospital to keep Al-Issa now that he has been deemed competent.
Still, she urged officials to keep him there anyway since it has the ability to medicate him, unlike the jail forcibly.
She said Al-Issa has vowed not to take medicine if he is returned to jail, the same had happened when he was temporarily moved there for a hearing last week.
Taking expert suggestions that he could regress if he keeps going back and forth from jail to hospital, Bakke said that the outcome "would be an injustice to everyone who has been impacted by this case."