Ahmad Alissa, the gunman responsible for the fatal shooting of 10 people at a grocery store in Colorado in 2021, has been found guilty of murder. Despite the defence’s plea that Alissa was insane at the time of the shooting due to his schizophrenia diagnosis and hearing voices, the jury rejected this argument and determined that he was responsible for his actions. District Attorney Michael Dougherty argued that the intentional and methodical nature of the attack showed Alissa was aware of his actions.
The trial, which included harrowing testimonies from survivors of the attack, detailed how Alissa started shooting in the car park of the store before heading inside and chasing and shooting multiple victims. Prosecutors pointed to the type of weapons Alissa used and his behavior during the attack as evidence of his sanity at the time. State forensic psychologists also concluded that Alissa’s mental illness likely played a role in the attack, but Colorado law defines insanity as the inability to tell right from wrong due to a mental disease.
Despite Alissa’s claims of hearing “killing voices” and his family’s reports of his increasing paranoia and withdrawal prior to the attack, the jury found him guilty of murder. The verdict could result in a life sentence for Alissa. The trial shed light on the tragic events at the grocery store and the impact on survivors, some of whom testified about their experiences during the shooting.
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