The rifle used in mass shootings in Boulder was bought legally, police chief said

The weapon used in the deadly mass shooting at a Colorado grocery store was legally purchased, the Boulder police chief said Friday. Meanwhile, the prosecutor said the suspect would face new allegations of attempted murder in the coming weeks.

Boulder police chief Maris Herold said the weapon allegedly used by Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa in the shooting, a semi-automatic Ruger AR-556 pistol, was legally purchased at a gun shop in Denver’s suburb of Arvada, where the suspect lived. . The suspect is being held without bail after he first appeared in court on Thursday to be formally notified of the ten murder charges and one charge of attempted murder he was already facing.

Herold also said the suspect was carrying a 9mm pistol, but police do not believe the weapon was used in Monday’s shooting.

Boulder County district attorney Michael Dougherty said the suspect would face an indeterminate number of additional allegations of attempted murder in the first degree, as numerous police officers who responded to the shooting faced a significant amount gunfire from the suspect.

“They burst into the store right after they responded,” Dougherty said. “Their actions have saved others, other citizens, from death.”

The 21-year-old suspect would later make a plea for the initial charge.

Authorities said they were still investigating a motive for the shooting.

“I think the families of the victims and the community are desperate for the motive,” Dougherty said. “We want to know the motive, and that will be the focus of all our efforts going forward. Whether we can determine it remains to be seen.”