Suspect in 2021 Colorado supermarket shooting determined competent

[August 24, 2023]  DENVER (Reuters) - A man accused of killing 10 people in a 2021 supermarket shooting in Colorado has been determined competent to stand trial, the prosecutor's office said Wednesday. 

A judge had ordered Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa in December 2021 to undergo treatment at the state's mental hospital after ruling he was incompetent to stand trial following two court-ordered psychological evaluations.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, suspect of the King Soopers grocery store shooting, appears in a Boulder County District courtroom at the Boulder County Justice Center in Boulder, Colorado, U.S. May 25, 2021. Matthew Jonas/Boulder Daily Camera/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

On Wednesday, Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty's office said the Colorado Department of Human Services had recently provided a re-evaluation report that concluded Alissa had been "restored to competency."

The district attorney has filed a motion asking for a judicial finding that he is competent and for a preliminary hearing in the case to be scheduled as soon as possible.

The competency standard requires that defendants understand the charges and can meaningfully assist attorneys in their defense.

The state public defender's office, which is representing Alissa, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The public defender's office typically does not comment on its cases.

Alissa is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder stemming from the March 22, 2021 shooting at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, about 28 miles (45 km) northwest of Denver.

The gunman opened fire with a legally purchased Ruger AR-556 pistol, prosecutors said. Among those killed was a responding Boulder police officer. Authorities have not identified a motive for the attack.

(Reporting by Keith Coffman; editing by Donna Bryson and Bernadette Baum)

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