DENVER – The man suspected of shooting and killing 10 people at a King Soopers store in Boulder Monday is expected to make his first court appearance Thursday morning in Boulder County District Court.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, was arrested for investigation of 10 counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder after he surrendered to SWAT officers about 50 minutes after he allegedly started shooting people outside the King Soopers on Table Mesa Road before moving inside. He was shot in the leg in the process.
He has not been formally charged at this time. At his first appearance Thursday morning at 8:15 a.m., he will be told of the charges he potentially faces and advised of his rights to an attorney, his right not to make any statements, and his other court rights.
He will also have his next court date scheduled and is expected to be held in jail pending that next hearing and pending his trial or a plea agreement.
Judge Thomas Mulvahill will preside over Thursday’s hearing, which will be available for people to watch online.
Prosecutors and police have said the investigation into the shooting could take up to a year and said people should be prepared for a lengthy court process.
District Attorney Michael Dougherty said Tuesday there is a top-level team of investigators, including those from federal agencies, working on the shooting and said prosecutors would be extremely thorough in the case in order to bring justice to the victims.
“The group is very focused on the work that is going to be done,” he said Tuesday. “We recognize the trauma that’s been inflicted on the victims’ families and also upon our community, and that is going to drive us to do everything we need to do to see this case to the right result.”
According to an affidavit for the suspect’s arrest, he started shooting around 2:40 p.m. Monday and was taken into custody at 3:28 p.m. Officers recovered 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.
The suspect had also bought a Ruger AR-556 pistol on March 16, just six days before the shooting, according to the affidavit.
If the suspect is formally charged with first-degree murder, as expected, he would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is convicted, as Colorado repealed the state’s death penalty last year.
You can read more about the 10 victims and their lives by clicking here.