‘But They Killed Elijah McClain for Walking Home’: Folks Discuss Footage of Alleged Boulder Shooter Being Escorted In Handcuffs After Killing 10 People
‘This Monster in Boulder Killed 10 People’: Twitter Users Compare Footage of Boulder Shooter Being Escorted to Ambulance In Handcuffs After Mass Shooting to Elijah’s McClain’s Death
Twitter Users Compare Footage of Boulder Shooter Being Escorted to Ambulance in Handcuffs After Mass Shooting to Elijah’s McClain’s Death
As footage of authorities apprehending the Boulder, Colorado, mass shooting suspect spread across social media on Monday, some Twitter users pointed out that the suspect was taken into custody with what they deemed relatively minor injuries — he had been shot in the leg — even as he had just unleashed a deadly rampage that left 10 people dead.
“But they killed Elijah McClain for walking home,” one user tweeted. McClain, 23, was walking home from a convenience store on Aug. 24, 2019, when he was stopped by Aurora police officers responding to a 911 call about a “suspicious” person. The unarmed massage therapist was placed in a chokehold by officers and later sedated by responding paramedics before having a heart attack in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. He died several days later.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, the 21-year-old shooting suspect, is accused of opening fire at King Soopers grocery store on Monday, terrorizing shoppers. Authorities have identified nine civilian victims, in addition to a police officer who was also killed. The victims range in age from 20 to 65 years old.
Officer Eric Talley was killed as police engaged in a shootout with the gunman.
Alissa, of Arvada, was shot in the leg and is in stable condition at a hospital, officials said Tuesday.
Footage that circulated on social media Monday showed a shirtless man with blood running down his leg being led by police to a stretcher in handcuffs.
Twitter users noted the differences between the way the Boulder shooter was handled despite the fact that he had just carried out a mass shooting, and the way McClain was treated as he walked home from a store unarmed. “He just existed,” one user wrote.
This Boulder, Colorado terrorist allegedly killed 10 people and was apprehended and taken into custody. In the SAME state, Elijah McClain was stopped because he “looked sketchy”, and was killed by police. He did not walk into a grocery store and kill anyone, he just existed.
Alec Karakatsanis, founder of the Civil Rights Corps shot down the idea that additional “training” would alleviate the problem of police using excessive force against Black people.
TV writer Dylan Park initially identified the suspected shooter as a white male to draw contrast between “two different Americas.”. He wrote, “A white man walked into a grocery store in Boulder, killed 10 people, and was apprehended by the police and walked out of the building completely unharmed. Right down the road, police killed Elijah McClain while he apologized for not doing anything wrong. Two different Americas.”
Hours later when the shooter was identified, Park retweeted a tweet stating that the call to 911 was for a white male which presumably impacted the way he was handled by officers.
Alissa has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder, Boulder Police Chief Maris Harold said.
“I want to say to the community, I am so sorry this incident happened,” the chief said with tears in her eyes, “and we are going to do everything in our power to make sure this suspect has a thorough trial and we do a thorough investigation.”
Authorities have not provided a motive for the shooting, but Alissa’s brother described the suspect as anti-social and paranoid. Alissa will be transferred to Boulder County Jail Tuesday afternoon.
Video of the incident circulated for hours online when a self-identified citizen journalist reportedly loading his groceries into his began capturing moments of the deadly shooting on live. Warning graphic images.