Boulder mass killing suspect who reportedly criticized Trump for his immigration stance was ‘previously known’ by FBI: Report



The Federal Bureau of Investigation was aware of accused mass killer Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa's potentially dangerous background even before he carried out the massacre that took the lives of 10 people in Boulder, Colorado, according to reports.

What are the details?

Tuesday, the New York Times reported that 21-year-old Alissa was "previously known" because he reportedly had connections to another individual who was under investigation by the agency.

According to the report, the suspect was convicted of misdemeanor assault against another student at his high school in 2018. When questioned about his assault, Alissa reportedly told authorities that he carried out the attack in response to "insults and ethnic taunts."

"Fellow students recall him having a fierce temper that would flare in response to setbacks or slights," the report noted.

Alissa, the Times noted, purchased a firearm on March 16 — just days before the deadly attack.

Alissa, who was born in Syria in 1999, lived "most of his life in the United States" according to Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty.

On Tuesday, a man purporting to be Alissa's older brother told the Daily Beast that his brother was "very anti-social, paranoid, mentally ill, and obsessed over someone being 'behind him' or 'looking for him.'"

He told the outlet, "I feel so sorry for the people that were shot by Ahmad. This was something I would have never expected Ahmad to do. What he did ... why, I don't know."

A woman who reportedly identified herself as Alissa's sister added, "We're shocked. He is a nice, quiet brother."

Anything else to know?

The Daily Beast also reported that a Facebook page believed to belong to Alissa addressed his Islamic background.

In a 2019, a post on the page read, "Yeah if these racist Islamophobic people would stop hacking my phone and let me have a normal life I probably could."

The outlet added, "On Facebook, his politics appeared mixed throughout several camps. He shared an article rebuking Donald Trump's stance on immigration, but also posted about his own opposition to gay marriage and abortion."

Eyewitnesses recall moment suspect entered grocery store and carried out the mayhem that killed at least 10 people



A suspect took the lives of at least 10 people — including a police officer — on Monday afternoon in a mass killing at a Boulder, Colorado, grocery store.

Eyewitnesses to the mass murder recalled the moment the suspect, who remains unidentified at the time of this writing, silently stormed the store and began firing indiscriminately on those inside.

What are the details?

According to the Denver Post, the shooting began outside one of the store's two entrances.

A bystander who filmed some of the mayhem noted a Toyota RAV4 that was "parked haphazardly at the base of an entrance ramp, its headlights on."

"Two roommates who were buying pizza at the self-checkout said that after hearing the initial noise, they saw a gunman, clad in black, enter with a rifle of some kind," the outlet noted. "He said nothing before raising the gun, they said."

One of the roommates, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the suspect "just came in and started shooting."

The other added that the suspect "let off a couple of shots, then was silent, and then he let off a couple more."

"He wasn't spraying," the eyewitness said.

The two split off in different directions and hid while the suspect continued to pick people off.

"Some shoppers saw immediate echoes of previous mass shootings, from Columbine to the Aurora movie theater shooting," the Post noted.

James Bentz, who was inside the store when the gunman opened fire, said that it felt like he always imagined that he would "be in a situation like this" at some point in his life.

Bentz said that he heard a series of shots and then found himself in a stampede to safety.

Bentz said he found an exit at the rear of the store and jumped off a loading dock to run to safety. Amid the chaos, he said he witnessed younger people helping older people out of the store and off the same loading dock he'd jumped from while fleeing.

Sarah Moonshadow and her 21-year-old son were inside the store when they heard shots ringing out. The two immediately dove to the ground for cover and "Spiderman-crawled on the floor out of there."

"We just ran," Moonshadow's son said.

When they exited the store, they saw a body on the pavement, but continued running to safety.

Neven Sloan and his wife, Quinlyn, were inside the store shopping when they heard the shots. Though the two were in separate areas of the store, they found one another and ran to safety. After Neven made sure his wife made it out of the store safely, he went back inside to assist others.

"He said he drew on his religion, which teaches a 'message (that) we can go anytime,'" the outlet noted.

What else?

In a late-night conference, Boulder police said that the incident is still under investigation. A suspect is in custody at the time of this reporting.

Another eyewitness said that he saw police escorting a handcuffed, heavyset, bearded man from the store following the shooting. The man, he said, looked to be wearing only underwear and had suffered an apparent injury to his leg. It is unclear at the time of this reporting whether that man is the suspect in custody.

"He was the only person who came out of there that I saw handcuffed," the eyewitness said. "Everyone else who came out had their hands up; they looked liked they were hostages or victims."