The gunman behind the mass shooting at a Boulder supermarket was identified as a Syrian native who came to the US in 2002 when he was just 3 years old.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was transported to a hospital after sustaining a “through and through” injury while confronting police Monday afternoon.
The 21-year-old was described as “very anti-social” and later suffering paranoia, telling siblings that someone was after him.
“He would describe being chased, someone is behind him, someone is looking for him,” Alissa’s 34-year-old brother said of the then high-school student’s struggles.
“When he was having lunch with my sister in a restaurant, he said, ‘People are in the parking lot, they are looking for me.’ She went out, and there was no one.”
“We didn’t know what was going on in his head,” the brother said that later, the family learned Ahmad Alissa was mentally ill.
Authorities said that the AR-rifle used in the mass shooting that left 10 fatalities was bought six days prior to the tragedy.
Witnesses at the King Soopers grocery store said that Alissa was wearing tactical gear and silently opened fire at people starting from the parking lot then inside the store.
“He just came in and started shooting,” a witness recalled. “He let off a couple of shots, then was silent, and then he let off a couple more. He wasn’t spraying.”
“I probably heard 30 shots,” another shopper said. “It was just pop, pop, pop, pop. It was the most terrifying event I’ve ever been through. I mean, I’ve been through an active shooter drill, but…This happened so fast, and it was so loud…I’m still in shock over it.”
