BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) – The FOX31 Problem Solvers are learning new information about Ahmad Alissa, the 21-year-old who’s accused of gunning down 10 people, including a police officer, at a Boulder King Soopers on Monday.
The Problem Solvers spoke with several students who went to Arvada West High School, including some who wrestled with Alissa just a few years.
They remember Alissa as a quiet young man. One said Alissa was a good wrestler at about 140 pounds.
But they said he was prone to angry outbursts after things didn’t go his way.
They said they’re not surprised that Alissa cold-cocked a classmate at school in November of 2017.
Some of Alissa’s classmates said the student who he repeatedly punched in math class – and others – had bullied Alissa because of his name, ethnicity and religion. But many others tell the Problem Solvers they never witnessed any bullying.
Alissa didn’t say much in court Thursday. He sat in a wheelchair and wore a mask.
His public defender made a few references to what she called, “his mental illness.” She asked for three months to evaluate his condition.
FOX31 legal analyst Christopher Decker said timing matters in the case.
“Whether or not, at the time of the acts, this person was insane within the meaning of the law or criminally not culpable,” could be part of the defense, Decker said.
The Problem Solvers have also learned that Arvada Police helped other law enforcement agencies with what they call, a “high risk” stop at a King Soopers in Arvada this week. It’s just miles away from Alissa’s home. Police said it is connected to the Boulder shooting.
And the Problem Solvers have learned that when investigators searched Alissa’s home just hours after the shooting, it was FBI agents who served that warrant, not local or state investigators.
The Problem Solvers are working to obtain a copy of that search warrant.