Mass shooting in Colorado supermarket: Survivor says gunman repeated “This is fun” during attack

Boulder, Colorado (AP) — A pharmacist who survived a mass shooting at a Colorado supermarket in 2021 said Thursday during the gunman's trial that she heard him say “this is fun” at least three times during the shooting. The chilling detail had not been previously revealed.

Sarah Chen said she heard the comments while hiding with her colleagues, listening carefully for any noises at the plexiglass barrier at the pharmacy counter that might alert them to the gunman's presence after Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa opened fire in the college town of Boulder.

“I heard him scream, 'This is fun. This is fun,'” Chen said.

No one, including Alissa's lawyers, disputes that he was the shooter. Alissa has pleaded not guilty because she fired because she was insane.

Alissa was diagnosed with treatment-resistant schizophrenia after the shooting. His lawyers say he had hallucinations, including hearing screaming voices, seeing people who weren't there and believing he was being followed in the lead-up to the shooting. They argue he should be found not guilty because he was unable to distinguish between right and wrong at the time of the shooting.

He is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder, multiple counts of attempted murder and other offenses, including possession of six high-capacity pistols that were banned in Colorado after previous mass shootings.

Testimony began on September 5 and the trial is expected to conclude by the end of the month.

Another pharmacy employee, Maggie Montoya, testified about what she saw and heard while hiding in a room next to the pharmacy, including hearing Alissa say he was naked when he surrendered.