- A Colorado gun store owner said the
Boulder shooting suspect passed abackground check to buy a gun. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa , 21, has been charged with 10 counts of murder in the deadly shooting.- The shooting has reignited a roiling public debate over
gun control measures and their efficacy.
The man charged with killing 10 people in a mass shooting at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, legally purchased his gun after passing a background check, the gun store owner said.
John Mark Eagleton, the owner of Eagles Nest Armory, confirmed in a statement that his business sold the gun used in the shooting, and that the buyer - shooting suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa - had been approved as per Colorado law.
"Ensuring every sale that occurs at our shop is lawful, has always been and will always remain the highest priority for our business," Eagleton said in the statement, which was first reported by the NBC affiliate 9news. "Regarding the firearm in question, a background check of the purchaser was conducted as required by Colorado law and approval for the sale was provided but he Colorado Bureau of Investigation."
Alissa, 21, was arrested and charged with 10 counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. An arrest warrant released by the Boulder Police Department said Alissa used a Ruger AR-556 semiautomatic pistol, which he bought six days prior to the shooting.
Prosecutors confirmed on Friday that the gun was purchased legally, and added that Alissa also had a handgun, which he didn't use in the shooting.
Eagleton added that his business is fully cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation.
Eagles Nest Armory and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation didn't immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.
The Boulder shooting, which came on the heels of a mass shooting in Atlanta that killed eight people, has renewed a bitter public discourse around the efficacy of gun control measures in preventing mass shootings. Colorado is one of 13 states requiring universal background checks for all gun sales, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Alissa is being held in the Boulder County Jail without bail. His lawyers have requested his next hearing be delayed for several months while they evaluate his mental state.