The suspect in the Colorado supermarket shooting bought a firearm from a local gun store after passing a background check, and he also carried a second weapon he didn’t use in the attack that killed 10 people this week, authorities and the weapon. shop owner said Friday.
Investigators are working to determine the motive for the shooting, but they don’t yet know why the suspect chose the Boulder store or what prompted him to carry out the rampage, police chief Maris Herold said at a news conference.
“Like the rest of the community, we too want to know why King Soopers, why Boulder, why Monday,” Herold said.
“Unfortunately, we still don’t have those answers at the moment.”
Boulder County district attorney Michael Dougherty said agents’ quick response kept others in the store out of harm’s way, but declined to say how many people there were.
Investigators have an idea of how many shots were fired in the shootout between officers and the suspect, but don’t reveal it yet, Dougherty said.
The officer who arrived first was killed.
“Their actions have saved other civilians from death,” Dougherty said of the officers. “They burst into the store and were immediately faced with a very significant amount of gunfire from the shooter, which they were initially unable to locate.”
In the coming weeks, more charges will be brought against the suspect, 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, in connection with the shots at officers, Dougherty said.
John Mark Eagleton, owner of Eagles Nest Armory in the Denver suburb of Arvada, said in a statement that his store cooperated with authorities during the investigation.
The suspect passed a background check from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation before purchasing a gun, Eagleton said.