Boulder shooting: Mental health hearing granted for suspect

Suspect Ahmad al-Aliwi Al Issa (centre) was brought into the courtroom in a wheelchair by police

The man suspected of shooting dead 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, has made his first appearance in court.

The presiding judge said Ahmad al-Aliwi Al Issa, 21, would remain held without bail as he granted a mental health hearing requested by a defence lawyer.

The Syrian-born US citizen is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murders. He did not enter a plea in court.

The victims of the attack on 22 March were aged between 20 and 65.

• Police officer, a store manager and shoppers killed in Boulder attack

The attack ended when police arrested the lone suspect after exchanging gunfire. The police have not confirmed a motive.

The grocery store is located in a busy shopping plaza in Boulder, a north-central Colorado city about 30 miles (50km) away from the state capital of Denver.

It comes less than a week after a mass shooting that left eight dead, including six Asian women, at three spas in Atlanta.

Following the shooting, US President Joe Biden renewed his call for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines as well as an end to loopholes in background checks.