A somber courtroom scene unfolded in Boulder, Colorado, Monday as Khadija Ahidid testified in the murder trial of her son, Ahmad Alissa. In her first public comments since Alissa killed 10 people in a supermarket in 2021, Ahidid described her son's erratic behavior, citing a post-COVID decline and paranoia that began in 2019. "How can I know him? He is sick," she conveyed through an Arabic interpreter when asked how she knew Alissa.
Alissa, who moved to the US from Syria as a child, exhibited increasingly bizarre behavior before the attack, she said. He believed he was being monitored by the FBI and isolated himself, according to Ahidid, who last saw her son the day of the mass shooting. He came to breakfast looking "homeless," in her description; she gave him $20 to go get a haircut or shave.
Alissa largely avoided eye contact with his mother while she testified. Her account included revelations about a rifle package Alissa brought home, which she had thought was a piano. "I swear to God we didn't know what was inside that package," she said. She did confirm hearing banging in the house and being told by one of Alissa's siblings that Alissa had a gun that had jammed. She said Alissa said he would return it, but that no one checked to make sure he did, saying "everyone has their own job." While Alissa's lawyers confirm he was the shooter, Alissa has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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