Colorado Shooting Suspect Has Violent Past; Friends Suspected Mental Illness

An investigation into the recent mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado, has revealed a history of violence and suspected mental illness for the alleged gunman. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, was said to be prone to violence and sometimes seemed to see or hear things that weren’t there, the Associated Press reported.

Alissa was booked into Boulder County jail on murder charges on Tuesday, a day after a shooting rampage at a grocery store that left 10 dead, including a police officer.

In 2018, Alissa was convicted of misdemeanor assault against a fellow high school student. According to the affidavit, Alissa “got up in [the] classroom, walked over to the victim [and] ‘cold cocked’ him in the head.” The student was punched in the head several times and left bloodied and vomiting. Alissa received probation and community service.

A wrestling teammate said Alissa was kicked off the team for an outburst, threatening to kill everyone after losing a practice match.

“He was one of those guys with a short fuse,” Angel Hernandez said. “Once he gets mad, it’s like something takes over and it’s not him. There is no stopping him at that point.”

Hernandez also said Alissa would sometimes look over his shoulder or spin around suddenly.

“He would say, ‘Did you see that? Did you see that?’” he said. “We wouldn’t see anything. We always thought he was messing with us.”

Police said relatives had told them Alissa sometimes thought he was being followed or chased.

Alissa bought an assault weapon six days before Monday's attack. When investigators visited his home after the shooting, they found his sister-in-law, who said she had seen him messing around with what looked like a machine gun two days earlier.