THE Boulder shooting suspect's family believed he was one of the victims of the horror attack until they were told “he carried out the killings,” The Sun can reveal.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa has been charged with 10 counts of murder by Colorado cops for allegedly rampaging through a grocery store with an AR-15-style rifle.
Now brother-in-law Usame Almusa, who is married to the suspect’s sister Aicha, has told The Sun how they initially thought he had died in the shooting.
Syrian-born Usame, who lives in Denver with his wife, both 30, said: “A member of my wife’s family called her on Monday; they said ‘your brother, he has died, he has been killed.’
“She rushed over the family home to find out what had happened. My wife called me from there and said Ahmad had been shot and murdered.
“It was crazy, we were all distraught.
“She said she was going to stay with her family and that she couldn’t come home and she told me to stay here, at our home.
“After two hours she called me and said he had not died, he was the one who did the killing.
“She was crying, she was upset, she just didn’t know what had happened.”
He also told how he would “sit away from everyone else, not saying anything to anyone” during family get togethers.
We can also reveal Alissa lived with his parents in the basement of their $800,000 seven-bed, six-bathroom home in Arvada, CO, and worked at his brother’s restaurant, The Sultan Grill, which has been closed since the attack.
Alissa’s father, Moustafa, is said to be so distraught by Monday’s devastating killing spree he “has nearly died from the crying.”
The revelation comes as:
- Ten people died in a gun massacre at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado.
- Witnesses said a man in tactical body armor shot victims one by one with a rifle during the rampage.
- A bearded suspect wearing only his underwear and covered in blood was led away in handcuffs.
- Police revealed the name of the alleged gunman, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, who has now been charged with murder.
- Boulder police officer Eric Talley, 51, was among those killed as he responded to reports of an active shooter.
- The names of the 10 victims killed in the massacre have been revealed.
- It was revealed Alissa was allegedly known by the FBI prior to the shooting.
- President Biden called for tighter gun checks as it was reported the alleged shooter bought the gun days before the massacre.
His family are said to “have no idea” what led to Alissa allegedly carrying out the attack at the King Soopers grocery store .
Usame said: “I do not know what happened with this guy to make him do this. We just don’t know what made him go so crazy. I wish we knew.”
Describing how Alissa behaved when he and his wife visited, Usame said: “Every time I visited my wife’s family he would always sit away from everyone else, not saying anything to anyone.
“He was a loner, just sitting to the side, not with us. It was strange. He lived with his family and lived in the basement at their home.
“He works with his family, his brothers, at their restaurant. There was never a girlfriend and not many friends.
“He has a reputation for being stupid, not smart. He was not like a proper Muslim, I don’t know what kind of Muslim he was. He did not go to the mosque I go to.”
He added: “This is terrible for the family, for the victims, for America. His father has almost died from the crying.
“His mother, Hadija, his sisters, my wife, his brothers, are all crying.”
Staff at a restaurant close to The Sultan Grill also told The Sun they had been told not to say anything about Ahmad’s family.
“We’ve been told to refer all inquiries to head office,” one said. “But The Sultan Grill is owned by Ahmad’s family.
“We never really saw him and this has been a total shock.”
The Sultan Grill is believed to be owned by the suspect’s brother, Ali.
Footage showed the shirtless Alissa covered in blood being led away in handcuffs after Monday afternoon's massacre.
He was later named as the alleged shooter by Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold during a press conference.
She said multiple agencies had investigated the massacre at the store where many people were getting their Covid-19 vaccines.
The victim's ranged in age from 20 to 65 and Mayor Sam Weaver said the community felt this loss "in our bones."
Alissa allegedly bought the assault rifle six days before the shooting, according to an arrest affidavit released Tuesday.
Denny Strong, 20, Neven Stoanisic, 23, Rikki Olds, 25, Tralona Bartkowiak, 49, Suzanne Fountain, 59, Teri Leiker, 51, Officer Eric Talley, 51, Kevin Mahoney, 61, Lynn Murray, 62, Jody Waters, 65 were the 10 victims.
Speaking about the tragedy, President Joe Biden said: "“I don’t need to wait another minute — or another hour — to take common sense steps that will save lives in the future."
"We should also ban assault weapons in the process," he added, calling on Congress to act in the wake of such horrific gun violence and describing Talley as a "the definition of an American hero."
FBI Special Agent Michael Schneider appealed to the public to come forward with any information they may have about the shooting, saying "no information is too small."
"[This] includes identifying the subject's motives," he said. "It would be premature for us to draw any conclusions at this time."
Herold said that the suspect Alissa from Arvada suffered a "through and through" wound to his leg and officials confirmed that he was in hospital before being brought to jail.
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