The 21-year-old man who allegedly killed 10 people in an American supermarket this week apparently passed a background check for the assault rifle used in the attack.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa has been charged with murder over the mass shooting at the King Soopers supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, on Monday.
Alissa bought a Ruger AR-556 pistol, a weapon that resembles a semi-automatic rifle, six days before the attack.
The store where Alissa bought the Ruger said the suspect passed a background check before making the purchase legally.
John Mark Eagleton, owner of the Eagles Nest Armory in Arvada, near Boulder, said: "We are absolutely shocked by what happened and our hearts are broken for the victims and families that are left behind.
"Ensuring every sale that occurs at our shop is lawful has always been and will always remain the highest priority for our business."
Alissa's brother said his sibling suffered from paranoia, and his lawyer yesterday asked that he be given a full mental health examination.
The alleged gunman pleaded guilty to a third-degree assault in 2018 for punching a high school classmate without warning the previous year.
The Boulder shooting took place less than a week after another alleged gunman fatally shot eight people at three spas in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Boulder and Atlanta attacks have reignited a national debate over gun rights protected by the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.
It has prompted President Joe Biden to call for new legislation from Congress and consider executive actions to try to stop gun violence.
A bill intended to impose stricter background checks and ban certain types of semi-automatic rifles has stalled amid Republican opposition.
