Gunman convicted in Colorado supermarket shooting

The man who fatally shot 10 people in 2021 at a Boulder, Colorado, grocery store was found guilty of murder Monday, with jurors rejecting his attorneys’ argument that mental illness left him unable to distinguish right from wrong.

The verdict came after two weeks of testimony that focused on the state of mind of the shooter, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, at the time of the shooting. Mr. Alissa, now 25, was diagnosed with schizophrenia after the attack; his lawyers admitted he fired the shots but said he was so ill at the time that he could not have known what he was doing was wrong.

The March 22, 2021, shooting took place at a King Soopers supermarket, less than a week after another mass shooting in Atlanta. The victims, who ranged in age from 20 to 65, included the first police officer to arrive on the scene, store employees and customers.

Jurors deliberated for about six hours over two days before reaching a unanimous conclusion. Having been convicted of ten counts of first-degree murder, including the murder of a police officer, Mr. Alissa must be legally sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The judge said Mr. Alissa would be sentenced shortly after Monday’s verdict.

Mr. Alissa, who has been in custody since the shooting, wore a striped shirt and khaki pants in court Friday. He stood as jurors entered and shook his head repeatedly. As the guilty verdicts were read, Mr. Alissa bit his nails and argued with members of his defense team.

In addition to the 10 counts of murder, Mr. Alissa was also convicted of a series of other charges, including 38 counts of attempted murder and six counts of possession of a high-capacity firearm magazine.