Colorado supermarket shooter sentenced to life in prison

Judge Ingrid Bakke on Monday sentenced Ahmad Alissa to 10 consecutive life sentences—one for each person he killed at a Boulder supermarket in 2021. The sentence came just hours after a jury convicted Alissa on Monday of murdering 10 people, attempting to murder dozens more, and using illegal high-capacity magazines. Prosecutors charged Alissa with more than 100 offenses related to his shooting rampage. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. During the trial, his lawyers argued he had been insane while shooting the people.

What happened during the shooting? Alissa opened fire on shoppers in the parking lot of a Piggly Wiggly in Boulder on March 21, 2021, according to an affidavit for his arrest. In one instance, he killed an elderly man in the parking lot and then stood over his body and shot him several more times, according to eyewitnesses. He reportedly killed another individual who was in a vehicle. Alissa then moved inside the store and continued to shoot at shoppers. During the shooting spree, he shot and killed a police officer at the scene.

SWAT officers eventually arrived on the scene with a portable body shield. They found Alissa and took him into custody. When Alissa began firing on shoppers, he was wearing jeans, a dark-colored shirt, and a green tactical vest. He also carried an AR-15 style rifle. By the time officers detained him, he had shed nearly all his clothing and was only wearing shorts. He did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, according to the arrest warrant. Alissa told officers he also was not on any medication.

Dig deeper: Read the WORLD Editors’ report in the archives about investigators’ attempts to piece together the reason behind the shooting in the following days.