Colorado gov. remembers 'friends of friends' killed in shooting
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis joins 'America's Newsroom' in the wake of the Boulder mass shooting that left 10 dead.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis told "America's Newsroom" Wednesday that he had lost "friends of friends" in Monday's mass shooting at the King Soopers grocery store in Boulder that killed 10 people, including a police officer.
"This is a really hard time for the family and friends of the 10 people we lost," Polis told co-host Dana Perino. "Some of them are friends of friends. I know it's a small community at the end of the day, and I know people who who knew some of the 10 people who we lost that tragic day two days ago."
The suspected gunman in the Boulder shooting, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder. Reports indicated that Alissa was previously known to the FBI through an investigation of one of his acquaintances.
BOULDER SHOOTING SUSPECT AHMAD AL ALIWI ALISSA: WHAT WE KNOW
Suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa (Boulder Police Dept.)
"I'm confident that the perpetrator will be held fully accountable under the law," Polis said. "And, of course, we'll look forward to what lessons we can learn about how to -- what one intervention was missed, where there are signs where this young man could have been helped or prevented from from taking this path. And those are things that we'll learn in the coming days and weeks."
The governor added that initial interviews indicated that some of Alissa's family members "had concerns" about him.
"I think that's one of the most important things," he told Perino. "If you think that your son, your daughter is a danger to themselves or others, there is a recourse ... I know a lot of parents in that situation just don't know what to do, because they might be facing a son or daughter that's losing grasp of reality. There are professionals who can help, and it's really important that people in that situation get the help they need."
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Monday's tragedy was the third mass shooting to rock the state in recent memory. In 1999, 12 students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton were killed by two students who turned their weapons on themselves. In 2012, 12 people were killed and 70 others injured at an Aurora movie theater during a midnight screening of the film "The Dark Knight Rises."
"Well, all of those events are really seared on the national consciousness. I wasn't governor, of course, during Columbine or Aurora," Polis said. "I think this is an example of how as a state, as a nation, we really need to look out for one another. If you see those problem signs, seek the help that's needed and make sure that we can prevent this kind of horrific disaster from happening again, anywhere."
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