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Federal law enforcement officials identified the suspect as James Holmes, 24, who lives about 4 miles away from the theater in Aurora. He is in custody. Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said at an evening news conference that 58 are injured in addition to the 12 dead. He said all 10 bodies in the theater have been removed. Oates said that all four of weapons were purchased in the last 60 days at local gun shops. He said 6,000 rounds of ammunition were purchased through the Internet, including one 100-round drum magazine, which allowed the suspect to fire up to 50-60 rounds in a minute.
He said investigators have halted their attempts to disarm the alleged assailant's apartment, which is booby-trapped with apparent explosives, until Saturday. "Personally, I've never seen anything like it,'' Oates said of the booby-trapped apartment. "We haved a lot of challenges." He said Holmes' first court appearance is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Monday. Officials said they don't have a motive for the shooting. "From our first call to his apprehension was about a minute or a minute and a half," Oates said. He said the suspect was armed with one AR-15, a Remington 870 shotgun and two 40-caliber Glock handguns.
At the suspect's home, investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives were attempting to disarm what appeared to be sophisticated incendiary devices. "We are not sure what we are dealing with in the home," Oates said. "There are incendiary devices chemicals and wires, something I am not familiar with." Officials said the suspect purchased a ticket for the show and once inside the theater propped open an emergency exit door, which he later entered after retrieving four weapons and a tear gas canister.
Dressed in dark clothing, he stood at the front of the theater and hurled the canister as he fired into the crowd at around 12:30 a.m. MT at the multiplex theater in a mall in Aurora, police said. "There were bullet (casings) just falling on my head. They were burning my forehead," Jennifer Seeger said, adding that the gunman, dressed like a SWAT team member, fired steadily except when he stopped to reload. "Every few seconds, it was just boom, boom, boom," she said. "He would reload and shoot, and anyone who would try to leave would just get killed." "It almost seemed like fun to him," she told CNN. Police, ambulances and emergency crews swarmed to the scene after frantic calls flooded the 911 switchboard.
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The shooting, which killed 12 and left at least 50 injured in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater, reverberated through Hollywood and upended carefully laid plans for the global release of "The Dark Knight Rises." Warner Bros. quickly canceled a premiere planned for Paris and canceled press interviews in France. "Warner Bros. and the filmmakers are deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident," read a statement from Warner Bros. "We extend our prayers and deepest sympathies to the victims, their loved ones and those affected by this tragedy." The studio was rushing to react to the tragedy. Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros, said he had been up since 4 a.m. making calls. "Everybody is very saddened by the event. We were obviously looking for a very happy occasion for us," Fellman said. "It's a difficult way to begin. We're just more concerned now with the well-being of those that were injured, of course."
The studio had no further comment on whether screenings might be canceled, or precautions taken. Director Christopher Nolan and actor Christian Bale did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Warner Bros. did move to pull trailers for its upcoming movie "Gangster Squad" from showings of "The Dark Knight Rises." The trailer of the film, which stars Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling in a ruthless war between '40s Los Angeles police and the mob, includes a scene of mobsters firing into a movie theater from behind the screen. A person familiar with what was shown at the Aurora theater said the trailer did not play there. The person did not want to be identified because the person was not authorized to speak on the matter.
Cinemark Holdings, Inc., the chain that owns the theater where the shooting happened, said it was working closely with local law enforcement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and loved ones, our employees, and the Aurora community," the company said. Movie theaters around the country continued Friday showings of the film as planned, though some were stepping up security. New York police commissioner Raymond Kelly said the city was providing an extra security in New York theaters playing "The Dark Knight Rises" ''as a precaution against copycats and to raise the comfort levels among movie patrons."
In the wake of the shooting, "The Dark Knight Rises" and the earlier Batman films, with their dark themes and emphasis on terrorism, were sure to be heavily scrutinized. The practice of midnight screenings for eagerly anticipated blockbusters, too, could come into question. Kelly also said that the suspected gunman, James Holmes, had his hair painted red and identified himself to authorities saying he was the Joker. Colorado authorities would not confirm that information, but Aurora police Chief Dan Oates said he had spoken to Kelly, who is a former colleague.
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