Police were met with “a very significant amount of gunfire” as they responded to the mass shooting that claimed the lives of 10 people, a Colorado prosecutor said on Friday.
That shooting will lead to additional charges of attempted murder against suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, according to Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty.
The officers “entered the store and immediately faced a significant number of shots from the sniper, which at first they were unable to locate,” he told reporters during a news conference. “They put their lives at risk.”
Alissa used a Ruger AR-556 pistol when she opened fire on a King Soopers grocery store on Monday, killing 10 people, including Boulder police officer Eric Talley, 51, officials said.
The gun was legally purchased from a gun store in Arvada, the suburb where the suspect is based, according to Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold. Alissa, 21, also carried a 9 mm pistol, but he did not appear to use that weapon, officials said.
Nearly 170 investigators from local, state and federal agencies recorded more than 3,000 hours separating the crime scene and desperately looking for a reason for the carnage, according to authorities.
So far, it is unclear what motivated the sniper.
“Do we want to know why?” Herold said. “Why that King Soopers? Why Boulder? Why Monday? And, unfortunately, we still don’t have those answers.”
She warned the community that there is always a chance that a reason will never be clear.
“It will be scary for all of us until we find out,” said Herold. “And, as someone said, sometimes you just don’t understand these things. But I’m waiting for us to do it. “
Alissa has been charged with 10 counts of murder, with additional charges likely to be filed in the next two weeks, according to Boulder’s prosecutor.
Dougherty said that he and the police want to limit their public comments on the case, fearing that they might inadvertently increase harmful publicity before the trial and cause a change of location.
“I want to make sure that the people of Boulder will have the opportunity to carry out this trial and to bring justice here in Boulder County,” said Dougherty.
It is a great burden for a trial to be removed from the city, said local defense lawyer Martin Stuart, citing the 2012 Aurora film massacre. The trial was held in Arapahoe County, despite great publicity and efforts by the suspect to get it. moved.
“Moving is extremely difficult and rare,” said Stuart, a former president of the Colorado Criminal Bar Association. “Colorado law requires the defense to show that there is ‘real prejudice’ because pre-trial advertising was ‘so massive, diffuse and damaging as to create a presumption that the defendant will have denied a fair trial.’ “
Talley, the murdered officer, was the father of seven children. He was hailed as “the definition of an American hero” by President Joe Biden.
The other nine killed on Monday were Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65.
Alissa was shot in the leg by the police and was arrested. The public saw him outside the market when an aerial news video showed the police escorting a man in handcuffs and with his right leg covered in blood. He was not wearing a shirt or shoes.
Alissa’s defense lawyer said on Thursday that she will need a thorough review of her client’s mental health before proceeding with any legal proceedings.
The officer who wounded Alissa is an 11-year-old veteran who has been placed on administrative leave, which is routine in shootings involving police officers, the police said on Friday.
