A man suffering from mental illness, who killed 10 people in a 2021 mass shooting at a Colorado supermarket, was sentenced to life in prison on Monday. Ahmad Alissa was convicted of murder after a jury rejected his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.
The victims’ families offered emotional testimony in court, reflecting on the lives shattered by the attack in Boulder, a college town. Nikolena Stanisic, whose brother Neven was one of the victims, expressed her anger and grief. “I hope this haunts the defendant until the end of time. The defendant deserves the absolute worst,” she said, recalling how her brother supported her and how their once lively home is now marked by silence.
While Alissa’s defense team acknowledged his schizophrenia and did not contest that he shot and killed 10 people, including a police officer, they argued that he was insane during the attack and could not distinguish right from wrong. Despite this, the jury convicted him, making him one of many defendants who have failed to be acquitted on grounds of insanity.
In addition to first-degree murder, Alissa was found guilty of 38 counts of attempted murder, one count of assault, and six counts of possessing illegal, large-capacity magazines. Judge Ingrid Bakke sentenced him to 10 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 1,334 years for the other charges.
“This was not about mental illness. This was about brutal, intentional violence,” said District Attorney Michael Dougherty.
Alissa, now 25, chose not to speak during his sentencing. The courtroom was filled with families of the victims, law enforcement officers, and Alissa’s own relatives. Many of the police officers present had been targeted by Alissa during the attack.
Alissa’s rampage began as soon as he stepped out of his car in the parking lot of a King Soopers grocery store in March 2021. He killed most of his victims within a minute before surrendering to police after being shot in the leg.
Among those who shared their pain in court was Madeline Talley, daughter of Officer Eric Talley, who was killed in the attack. While mourning the moments she would never share with her father, Madeline said she chose forgiveness over bitterness. “He taught me to believe that God brings good out of evil,” she said of her father.
Not all victims’ families were ready to forgive. Robert Olds, whose niece Rikki was killed, blamed Alissa’s family, saying their “ignorance, inattentiveness, and inaction” contributed to the tragedy.
Alissa remained expressionless as the verdict was read, occasionally looking toward the victims’ families during the sentencing. For much of the trial, he kept his head down, talking quietly to his lawyer or writing notes.
The prosecution had to prove Alissa was sane at the time of the shooting, arguing that his calculated actions—such as targeting fleeing victims and sparing others—demonstrated his awareness of what he was doing. Alissa carried steel-piercing bullets and illegal magazines capable of holding 30 rounds, suggesting an intent to inflict maximum harm.
During deliberations, jurors asked to review footage of Alissa killing the victims, obeying arrest commands, and later interacting with psychologists.
Family members testified that Alissa, who immigrated from Syria, had become withdrawn and paranoid in the years leading up to the shooting, displaying signs of hearing voices. His behavior reportedly worsened after contracting COVID-19 in late 2020, and he was diagnosed with schizophrenia following the attack. However, psychologists who evaluated him concluded that he was sane during the shooting. They found no evidence of delusions and noted that his fear of being jailed or killed by police indicated he understood the wrongfulness of his actions.
Alissa claimed to hear “killing voices” before the attack, but he was unable to provide specific details about these voices during hours of interviews, according to forensic psychologist B. Thomas Gray.
Under Colorado law, insanity is defined as a mental condition so severe that the person cannot distinguish right from wrong, a standard Alissa did not meet, despite his schizophrenia diagnosis.
Throughout the two-week trial, families of the victims watched harrowing surveillance footage and listened to survivors describe how they narrowly escaped the gunman’s path. Prosecutors did not establish a clear motive for the shooting, though evidence showed Alissa had researched potential locations for his attack in the days leading up to the event, focusing on large stores.
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On the day of the attack, he drove to Boulder from his home in Arvada, randomly choosing the King Soopers as his target. He shot three people in the parking lot before entering the store, where he continued firing. Survivors recounted their desperate attempts to hide, with one emergency room doctor crawling onto a shelf to hide among bags of potato chips. A pharmacist testified that she heard Alissa say, “This is fun” as he fired his semi-automatic pistol.
In court, Alissa’s mother expressed her belief that her son was mentally ill, while his father said he thought Alissa was possessed by a “djin,” or evil spirit. However, they had not sought treatment for him, fearing it would bring shame to their family.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis released a statement following the sentencing, saying justice had been served. “Loved ones, friends, and neighbors were taken from us far too soon by an act of pure evil,” he said.
