The father of Ahmad Alissa, who killed 10 people in a Colorado supermarket in 2021, testified in court on Tuesday that he thought his son might have been possessed. Moustafa Alissa described instances where his son behaved oddly, such as talking to himself and breaking objects he feared were being used to track him. He recalled an eerie moment when Ahmad claimed there was a man in his room, despite the room being empty. "We thought he probably was just possessed by a spirit or something," he said, through an interpreter.
Ahmad Alissa was diagnosed with severe schizophrenia following the shooting and was only deemed mentally competent to stand trial last year after receiving potent antipsychotic medication. Although there is no dispute that Alissa was the gunman, he has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His defense argues he was unable to differentiate between right and wrong due to legal insanity, while prosecutors maintain he was aware of his actions, citing his planning and research prior to the attack.
Testimony also revealed cultural stigma as a reason Moustafa did not seek treatment for his son's mental illness. When asked why he did not attempt to take guns away from Ahmad despite knowing his condition, he acknowledged it was "shameful in our culture" to have a mentally ill family member. District Attorney Michael Dougherty questioned the severity of Ahmad's condition based on his family's actions, to which Moustafa responded that while his son was "not normal," they didn't anticipate the tragic outcome. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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