A mentally ill man who killed 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in 2021 was convicted Monday of murder and faces life in prison. The man, who has schizophrenia, fatally shot 10 people including a police officer in the college town of Boulder. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, with the defense arguing he couldn’t tell right from wrong at the time of the attack.
In addition to 10 counts of first-degree murder, the jury found the man guilty on 38 charges of attempted murder, one count of assault, and six counts of possessing illegal, large-capacity magazines. The man did not visibly react as the judge began reciting the guilty verdicts against him.
The courtroom was packed largely with victims’ families and police officers, including those who were shot at by the man. Several members of the man’s family sat just behind him.
The man started shooting immediately after getting out of his car in a King Soopers store parking lot in March 2021. He killed most of the victims in just over a minute and surrendered after an officer shot him in the leg.
State forensic psychologists who evaluated the man concluded he was sane during the shooting. Despite hearing voices, the psychologists said the man did not experience delusions and knew his actions were wrong.
Family members of the victims attended the two-week trial and watched graphic surveillance and police body camera video. Survivors testified about how they fled and in some cases helped others to safety.
Prosecutors did not offer any motive for the shooting. The man initially searched online for public places to attack in Boulder, then drove to the supermarket where the shooting occurred.
On the day of the attack, he shot three victims in the parking lot before entering the store. Witnesses described hearing the man say “This is fun” as he fired his weapon inside the store.
The man’s family testified that he had become withdrawn and showed signs of mental illness before the shooting. His mother thought he was “sick,” while his father believed he was possessed by an evil spirit.
Despite being diagnosed with schizophrenia after the attack, the man was found guilty of murder and other charges. Mental illness is not the same as insanity under Colorado law, which defines insanity as having a mental disease so severe that it’s impossible for a person to tell right from wrong.
