The suspect in the King Soopers shooting in Boulder, Colorado, in which 10 people were killed in March was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial on Friday, meaning he must complete mental health treatment before the case can proceed, The Denver Post reported.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 22, of Arvada will be taken to the state hospital in Pueblo for treatment, Boulder County Chief Judge Ingrid Bakke ruled earlier in the day.
The incompetency finding will delay the progression in the case for at least three months.
Alissa faces 115 criminal charges, including 10 counts of first-degree murder in the March 22 shootings in the Boulder supermarket.
Neither the defendant nor law enforcement have publicly disclosed a motive for the shooting.
Defense attorney Kathryn Herold said Alissa has ''serious mental illness'' but did not elaborate. According to Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty, Alissa is expected to be restored to competency with treatment and medication.
Bakke ordered Alissa to undergo a second competency exam after a request from the Boulder County District Attorney's Office on Oct. 14. All four psychologists who participated in the exam found Alissa incompetent to stand trial, according to the Post.
Alissa's defense attorneys pushed back against the evaluations, arguing that the district attorney's office was misstating the report's findings, another Denver Post report said.
''For example, the prosecution contends that Mr. Alissa understands the potential sentence, but the report indicates otherwise,'' that court document said. ''The death penalty is not a potential sentence in this case, and the report reflects his fixation on that as a sentence. Nor does Mr. Alissa understand the role of the judge, as the prosecution tells it. The judge does not decide the verdict, as Mr. Alissa told the evaluator.''
The case against Alissa will be placed on hold until psychologists find him competent, which could take months or years, according to the report
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