Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa and the 2021 Boulder King Soopers Massacre
Background
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was the perpetrator of the mass shooting at a King Soopers supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, on March 22, 2021. Alissa, who was 21 years old at the time, drove from his family’s home in Arvada to Boulder while armed with a Ruger AR-556 semiautomatic pistol resembling an AR-15 rifle. He also carried a separate 9mm handgun, although investigators determined that the Ruger was the weapon used during the massacre.
Alissa had purchased the Ruger weapon on March 16, 2021, six days before the attack. He also possessed large-capacity ammunition magazines. Evidence later presented in court showed that he had searched online for possible public locations in Boulder, including restaurants, bars and large retail stores. Prosecutors said that he ultimately drove into Boulder and selected the first major supermarket he encountered.
Before the shooting, members of Alissa’s family had observed increasingly disturbed and paranoid behavior. He believed that people were watching or following him and had become socially isolated. He had not received formal psychiatric treatment before the massacre. Alissa had previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault after attacking a classmate at Arvada West High School in 2017. That case resulted in probation and community service.
The King Soopers Shooting
At approximately 2:30 p.m. on March 22, 2021, Alissa entered the parking lot of the King Soopers supermarket at 3600 Table Mesa Drive in Boulder. The store was busy with employees, customers and outside service workers. More than 100 people were believed to have been inside the building, with additional people in the surrounding parking lot.
Alissa began shooting almost immediately after leaving his vehicle. One of the first people killed was 23-year-old repair technician Neven Stanisic, who had completed work on a coffee machine and was sitting inside his service van. Alissa continued across the parking lot, firing at people as they attempted to escape or find cover. He killed three victims outside before entering the supermarket through an eastern entrance.
Inside the store, the sound of gunfire caused customers and employees to run toward exits, hide in storage areas or shelter behind counters and merchandise. Some escaped through rear doors, while others remained concealed for nearly an hour. Alissa moved through the aisles and continued firing his Ruger AR-556. Seven victims were killed inside the supermarket.
Employees helped one another reach safety, and several people used emergency exits to flee the building. Others hid in offices, closets and stockrooms. A woman who escaped suffered a fractured back, but no additional person was fatally wounded beyond the ten victims.
Police Response and Officer Eric Talley
Boulder police began receiving emergency calls reporting an active shooter at approximately 2:33 p.m. Officer Eric Talley, a 51-year-old veteran of the Boulder Police Department, was among the first officers to enter the supermarket. Talley had served with the department since 2010 and was the father of seven children.
Talley and other officers moved toward the gunfire in an attempt to locate and stop the attacker. Alissa shot and killed Talley inside the store. Talley was the final person murdered during the attack. His death was the first line-of-duty killing of a Boulder police officer since 1994.
Additional police officers surrounded the building while tactical teams entered and searched for the gunman. Alissa exchanged gunfire with responding officers. Boulder Police Officer Richard Steidell struck Alissa in the right thigh, disabling him. Alissa eventually removed much of his clothing, placed his weapons down and surrendered. Officers arrested him outside the supermarket at approximately 3:28 p.m.
Alissa was transported to Boulder Community Health Foothills Hospital for treatment of his gunshot wound. He was later transferred to the Boulder County Jail. Investigators recovered the Ruger AR-556, the unused 9mm handgun, ammunition and multiple large-capacity magazines.
Victims of the March 22, 2021 Massacre
- Denny Stong, 20 – A King Soopers employee who was killed inside the supermarket at 3600 Table Mesa Drive in Boulder. Stong had worked at the store since 2018 and had an interest in aviation and becoming a pilot.
- Neven Stanisic, 23 – A repair technician who was killed in the supermarket parking lot after completing work on a coffee machine. He was the son of Serbian refugees from Bosnia and was sitting in his service vehicle when Alissa attacked.
- Rikki Olds, 25 – A King Soopers front-end manager who was killed inside the store. Olds was remembered by relatives and coworkers as an energetic and caring young woman who had taken on increasing responsibilities at the supermarket.
- Tralona Bartkowiak, 49 – A customer who was killed at the King Soopers. She helped operate Umba Love, a Boulder clothing and accessories business, with her sister.
- Teri Leiker, 51 – A longtime King Soopers employee who was killed inside the supermarket. Leiker had worked at the store for approximately three decades and was well known to customers and coworkers.
- Eric Talley, 51 – A Boulder police officer who was killed after entering the supermarket to confront the gunman. Talley had served with the department since 2010 and was a husband and father of seven.
- Suzanne Fountain, 59 – A customer who was killed at the supermarket. Fountain had worked as a financial counselor and was active in Boulder’s theater and nonprofit communities.
- Kevin Mahoney, 61 – A customer who was killed during the attack. Mahoney was a father and grandfather who had reportedly gone to the store for routine grocery shopping.
- Lynn Murray, 62 – A customer who was killed inside King Soopers. Murray was a retired photo director and editor who had worked for publications including Glamour, Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan.
- Jody Waters, 65 – A customer who was killed inside the supermarket. Waters was an entrepreneur and former owner of a clothing and home-decor business in Boulder.
Charges and Mental Competency Proceedings
Alissa was initially charged on March 23, 2021, with ten counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors later added dozens of charges connected to the customers, employees and police officers whom he fired upon or endangered. The final case included murder, attempted murder, assault and illegal large-capacity magazine charges.
His attorneys raised concerns about his mental condition soon after his arrest. Court-appointed evaluators diagnosed Alissa with schizophrenia. In December 2021, a judge ruled that he was mentally incompetent to stand trial, meaning that he could not adequately understand the proceedings or assist his attorneys. He was transferred to the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo for treatment.
Alissa remained incompetent for an extended period while receiving psychiatric care and medication. Evaluators eventually reported that treatment had improved his ability to understand the criminal case. After conflicting opinions and additional hearings, a judge ruled on October 6, 2023, that Alissa was competent to stand trial.
Trial and Insanity Defense
Alissa pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His attorneys did not dispute that he had carried out the killings. Instead, they argued that untreated schizophrenia had caused a severe psychotic episode and prevented him from understanding that his actions were wrong.
His trial began in Boulder County District Court in September 2024. Prosecutors presented surveillance recordings, firearm evidence, witness testimony, internet search records and statements Alissa made during psychiatric evaluations. They argued that his preparation, choice of weapons, selection of a crowded public location and efforts during the attack demonstrated intentional and goal-directed conduct.
Evidence showed that Alissa had researched possible attack locations before the massacre. He had purchased the Ruger firearm several days beforehand and arrived with ammunition and large-capacity magazines. Prosecutors argued that although he had schizophrenia, mental illness alone did not establish legal insanity.
Defense experts described Alissa’s delusions, paranoia and disorganized thinking. Prosecutors responded with testimony from evaluators who concluded that he remained capable of distinguishing right from wrong when he committed the murders. The prosecution did not establish a specific personal, political or ideological motive for his decision to target the supermarket.
Conviction and Sentence
On September 23, 2024, the jury rejected Alissa’s insanity defense and found him guilty on all 55 criminal counts. The convictions included ten counts of first-degree murder, 38 counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault and six counts involving prohibited large-capacity ammunition magazines.
Judge Ingrid Bakke sentenced Alissa to ten consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, one for each person murdered. She also imposed an additional 1,334 years of imprisonment for the attempted murders, assault and magazine offenses. Alissa declined to make a statement before he was sentenced.
During the sentencing hearing, relatives described the permanent effects of the massacre, including children growing up without parents, families losing siblings and spouses, and store employees continuing to experience trauma. Some relatives expressed forgiveness, while others directly condemned Alissa and the destruction he had caused.
Community Impact
The King Soopers massacre became one of the deadliest crimes in Boulder’s history. The supermarket remained closed for nearly a year while the building was repaired and redesigned. It reopened in February 2022 with memorial features honoring the victims and the employees who helped customers escape.
Memorials containing flowers, photographs and messages appeared outside the store in the days after the murders. Boulder later established annual remembrance events honoring Tralona Bartkowiak, Suzanne Fountain, Teri Leiker, Kevin Mahoney, Lynn Murray, Rikki Olds, Neven Stanisic, Denny Stong, Eric Talley and Jody Waters.
The March 22, 2021 attack left ten families grieving and exposed more than 100 survivors to violence inside and around an ordinary neighborhood grocery store. Alissa’s 2024 convictions brought the criminal prosecution to an end, but the massacre continued to affect survivors, first responders, employees and the wider Boulder community years after the shooting.
