Boulder gunman, 21, was 'chuckling' as he murdered ten people inside King Soopers grocery store, witnesses say
The gunman responsible for killing ten people at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder last week 'chuckled' as he carried out the attack, witnesses have revealed.
Ahmad Alissa, 21, is in custody awaiting his next court date. He is being held on 10 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and more charges are expected.
It remains unclear what his motive for the mass shooting was. Friends and family say the shooter was a 'paranoid loner' who had never had a girlfriend and was bullied in school over his Syrian heritage.
In a new interview with The Denver Post, witnesses have described hearing a man - who they believe was him - laughing as the shots rang out.
'We could hear a man chuckling. Gunshots were close. We believe it was him chuckling,' Angelina Romero-Chavez said.
Police also said across radio communications: 'This guy is laughing at us.'
Ahmad Alissa, 21, is in custody awaiting his next court date. He is being held on 10 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and more charges are expected
Alissa on the day of the shooting, being led out of the store by police. He 'chuckled' as he shot his victims, survivors say
Workers told the Post how they hid behind trash cans to shield themselves from the shooter.
Logan Smith, one of the store employees, told how he had just had lunch with Rikki Olds, 25, when the shooting began.
Olds was one of the ten people killed. Smith said it looked as though she was trying to lock the doors.
She had been working at the self-service checkout.
All of the witnesses describe Alissa as moving slowly and deliberately through the store.
He was not running and he was not spraying bullets indiscriminately.
The gunman was eventually cornered near the pharmacy area of the grocery store. He handed himself to police then asked to phone his mother.
By the time he was taken into custody, he had removed his jeans, shoes and top.
Witnesses said he had been wearing a green tactical vest beforehand.
Alissa bought his AR-556 assault rifle a week before he carried out the killings.
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