This testimony from Khadija Ahidid, the mother of Ahmad Alissa, offers a deeply personal and tragic glimpse into the events leading up to the 2021 Boulder supermarket shooting. Her comments, delivered through an Arabic interpreter, highlight the mental health struggles her son began experiencing in the years before the incident. Diagnosed with schizophrenia after the attack, Alissa displayed increasingly paranoid behavior, including the belief that the FBI was following him, talking to himself, and isolating from family members.
Ahidid emphasized that her son was mentally unwell, repeatedly stating, He is sick. Her testimony, which occurred during Alissa’s murder trial, points to the family’s belief that his deteriorating condition may have been exacerbated after contracting COVID-19. However, despite these signs, there was no record of him receiving treatment for mental illness prior to the shooting.
In court, Alissa’s defense maintains that he was legally insane at the time of the shooting and should not be held criminally responsible, while the prosecution asserts that despite his mental illness, Alissa knew what he was doing was wrong. They argue that his preparation and subsequent fear of incarceration show awareness of the consequences.
Ahidid’s account of the day of the shooting reveals a family overwhelmed by their son’s behavior, seemingly unaware of the violent outcome that would unfold. Her reflections, including confusion over the contents of a package later revealed to contain a rifle, underscore the complex layers of the case and the pain felt by both the victims’ families and Alissa’s own family.
This trial raises ongoing questions about the intersections of mental illness and criminal accountability in mass shooting cases.