Dark Knight Colorado massacre suspect James Holmes has booby-trapped his apartment: police

AP Photo/Ed Andrieski

AURORA, Colo. — Police searching the home of a man suspected of killing 12 people in a Denver, Colorado movie theatre have determined it is “booby-trapped” with what they are calling “very sophisticated” explosives or flammable materials.
U.S. law enforcement officials have named 24-year-old James Holmes as the suspected gunman in the shooting spree during the premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises” at an Aurora theatre in suburban Denver.
Holmes is in custody, and the FBI says there in no indication he has ties to larger international terrorist organizations.
Wearing a gas mask, Holmes allegedly set off an unknown gas and fired into a crowded movie theatre at a midnight screening, killing at least 12 people and injuring at least 50 others, authorities said.
Police Chief Dan Oates says it could take “hours or days” to disarm any devices. The suspect earlier spoke of “possible explosives in his residence.”
Oates said police also checked for explosives in the parking lot and at the Century 16 theatre and secured those areas. Police were at the Denver-area apartment and had evacuated other residents of the building.
One of the dead is Jessica Ghawi, 24, a young aspiring sportscaster who last month survived Toronto’s Eaton Centre shooting. She wrote about her experience in a blog post dated June 5, 2012.
Some of the injured were children, with the youngest a 4-month-old baby who has been released from treatment. Victims were being treated for chemical exposure apparently related to canisters thrown by the gunman.
Moviegoers didn’t know what was happening and some thought the attack was part of the show. Then they saw a silhouette of a person in the smoke at the front of the theatre near the screen, pointing a gun at the crowd.
“I told my friend ’we’ve got to get out of here,’ but then he shot people trying to go out the exits,” Jennifer Seeger told NBC’s “Today.” She the shooter made his way up the aisle, shooting as he went, saying nothing.

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Aspiring sportscaster Jessica Ghawi was killed in the shooting. She also witnessed the Toronto Eaton Centre gunfight in June and had written widely about the incident.

Holmes was arrested shortly after the attack at 12:30 a.m. MDT at the multiplex theatre at a mall in Aurora.
It was the worst mass shooting in Colorado since the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire at the school in the Denver suburb of Littleton, about 15 miles west of Aurora, killing 12 classmates and a teacher and wounding 26 others before killing themselves in the school’s library.
Aurora police spokesman Frank Fania on ABC’s “Good Morning America” said he didn’t know yet if all the injuries were gunshot wounds. He said some might have been caused by other things such as shrapnel.
Police, ambulances and emergency crews swarmed on the scene after frantic calls started flooding the 911 switchboard, officials said.

Officers came running in and telling people to leave the theatre, Salina Jordan told the Denver Post. She said some police were carrying and dragging bodies.
Officers later found the gunman near a car behind the theatre.
“A gas mask, rifle, handgun at least one additional weapon [were] found inside,” he said.

AP Photo/Craig F. Walker, The Denver Post

A man puts his head in his hands after arriving at Children's Hospital in Aurora, CO, Friday, July 20, 2012.

The suspect was taken into custody, but no name was released. Oates said there’s no evidence of any other attackers. There was also no immediate word of any motive.
President Barack Obama said he was saddened by the “horrific and tragic shooting,” pledging that his administration was “committed to bringing whoever was responsible to justice, ensuring the safety of our people, and caring for those who have been wounded.”
“The Dark Knight Rises” is one of the most highly anticipated films of the summer. The movie opened across the world Friday, but the shooting prompted officials to cancel the Paris premiere, with workers pulling down the red carpet display at a theatre on the famed Champs-Elysees Avenue.
“Warner Bros. and the filmmakers are deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident. We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time,” the studio said.

REUTERS/Jason Hatfield

FBI officers, Aurora police officers, and fire crews are pictured outside the Denver shooting suspect's apartment building in Aurora Colorado.

Moviegoers spoke of their terror as violence erupted and people around them fell victim.
Bejamin Fernandez, 30, told the Post that he heard a series of explosions. He said that people ran from the theatre and there were gunshots as police shouted “get down!”
Frenandez said he saw people falling, including one young girl.
Jordan told the paper that one girl was struck in cheek, others in stomach including a girl who looked to be around 9-years-old.
Jordan said it sounded like firecrackers until someone ran into Theater 8 yelling “they’re shooting out here!”
Hayden Miller told KUSA-TV that he heard several shots.

AP Photo/Barry Gutierrez

Judy Goos, center left, hugs her daughter's friend, Isaiah Bow, 20, while eyewitnesses Emma Goos, 19, left, and Terrell Wallin, 20, right, gather outside Gateway High School where witnesses were brought for questioning Friday, July 20, 2012, in Aurora, Colo.

“Like little explosions going on and shortly after that we heard people screaming,” he told the station.
Hayden said at first he thought it was part of a louder movie next door. But then he saw “people hunched over leaving theatre.”
The police chief said 10 victims died at the theatre and four at area hospitals.
At least 24 people were being treated at Denver area hospitals.

KUSA reported that some hospitalized victims were being treated for chemical exposure, related apparently to canister thrown by gunman.
Eleven people were being treated at the Medical Center of Aurora for gunshots and ranged from minor to critical condition. Two others walked in to be treated for tear gas contamination.
Denver Health had seven victims — one in critical and the rest in fair condition.

JONATHAN CASTNER/AFP/GettyImages

Police cars in front of the Century 16 theater in Aurora, Colorado where a gunman opened fire during the opening of the new Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises" killing at least 12 people and wounding 50 others.

The youngest victims were being treated at Children’s Hospital Colorado, where a total of six children were taken. Their condition wasn’t known.
Two people in critical condition were rushed to nearby Swedish Medical Center, spokeswoman Nicole Williams said.
Aurora is on Denver’s east side and is Colorado’s third-largest city with 327,000 residents. It is home to a large Defence Department satellite intelligence operation at Buckley Air Force Base, as well as The Children’s Hospital, the University of Colorado Hospital and a future Veterans Affairs hospital.

REUTERS/ Evan Semin

Tom Sullivan holds up a photo of his son Alex Sullivan pleading the media to help find him, outside Gateway High School a few blocks from the scene of the Century 16 Theatre shootings in Aurora, Colorado July 20, 2012.

Article taken from: http://news.nationalpost.com/