The suspected King Soopers shooter appeared “eerily” calm shortly after the shooting

Shortly after allegedly killing 10 people at a Boulder King Soopers grocery store, the man who faces more than 100 charges related to the crime asked to call his mother.

In a body-worn camera shown Thursday during a motions hearing ahead of the five-week trial set to begin later this month, the suspected gunman, 25-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, appeared irritable but largely calm in the moments after the shooting, police officials said.

On that day in March 2021, Alissa had stripped down to a pair of underwear outside in the store despite the cool temperatures. After a firefight in the store, officers confronted him and asked him if he was “our shooter.”

“I want to go home,” Alissa can be heard saying on camera.

“You are not going home,” an officer replied.

“I want to talk to my mother,” said Alissa.

The officers harassed him and asked him if he had come there alone and if there was anyone in the building who wanted to shoot them.

“Did you come here alone?” the officers asked him.

“Yes,” he said.

“Tell me, man, is there anyone else in there who could get hurt?” an officer is heard asking.

“I don't think so – let me talk to my mother,” he said.

Thursday's motion hearing was an opportunity for prosecutors and defense attorneys to work out the final details of what can be admitted in Alissa's case once the jury is empaneled.

Alissa has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity for the March 22, 2021, shooting in which 10 people were shot, including Boulder police Officer Eric Talley. The other victims were Tralona Bartkowiak, Suzanne Fountain, Teri Leiker, Kevin Mahoney, Lynn Murray, Rikki Olds, Neven Stanisic, Denny Stong and Jody Waters.

The defendant's defense attorneys do not deny that Alissa was the shooter, but say that he was schizophrenic, was mentally ill that day, and could not understand his actions and the consequences.

Yet prosecutors have spent years in their trials trying to establish the legal basis that Alissa was aware of what he had done that day and that he may even have simulated or feigned schizophrenia in order to delay his criminal proceedings.

In court Thursday, Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty told Boulder Presiding Judge Ingrid Bakke that there was no record of Alissa ever being treated by a doctor or medicated for a mental illness.

Detective Sgt. Connor Pontiakos, who works with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, testified Thursday that he spent nearly 11 hours with Alissa at the hospital after the shooting, where he was treated for a gunshot wound he sustained during a gun battle with police at the store.

Pontiakos said they talked about sports, food and restaurants. He also said Alissa told him several times that he needed to rest and take a break, which the detective said he responded to at the time.

“Did the defendant pursue questions?” prosecutor Dougherty pressed Pontiakos.

“Yes,” he said.

“Were there any signs that he was delusional?” Dougherty asked.

“No,” he said.

About 11 hours after those conversations began, Pontiakos said he was read his Miranda rights, which state that he has the right to an attorney and is not compelled to speak to police without one.

The defendant has spent the past few years at the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo, where he is forcibly medicated because he refuses to take antipsychotic drugs that doctors say work for schizophrenia. He has traveled to Boulder several times in recent years, including Thursday, for court hearings, and prosecutors say he even refused to take his medication this week in jail while awaiting his hearings.

In prison, officials have no authority to forcibly administer medication to him.

The prosecution wants those details disclosed to the jury, and defense lawyers say his refusal is due to interactions with a heart medication he is currently taking. They asked that his full medical records not be disclosed.

Defense attorneys also say they are concerned about the admissibility of conversations Alissa had with Pontiakos, an FBI agent and another police officer at the hospital because they believe it was not a fair interrogation. Dougherty said he does not plan to play those conversations to the jury unless it would refute an argument.

Boulder Chief Judge Ingrid Bakke will rule on the various motions before August 26, when jury selection in the case is scheduled to begin in Boulder.