12 Dead in Colorado movie theater shooting

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'The Dark Knight Rises'
Massacre
12 Dead, 50 Injured

  Holmes reportedly used 4 guns during the shooting -- a rifle, a shotgun, a handgun and another firearm that's being compared to an AK-47. Cell phone video taken from inside the lobby of the movie theater showed the chaos following the shooting.

One witness tells CNN Holmes did not resist arrest when cops moved in -- "He did not put up a fight."

At this point, police say there is no evidence of a second gunman.

Hundreds of police and FBI agents have already been assigned to the investigation.

A 15-year-old witness told CNN he was able to escape the theater when the gunman stopped firing to reload one of his guns.
                       

http://www.tmz.com/2012/07/20/dark-knight-rises-shooting-spree-colorado/

timeline in article also cell phone video at link

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Exclusive: Interview With James Michael Holmes, Hispanic Tea Party Member Falsely Accused by ABC

Breitbart News spoke to James Michael Holmes, the Tea Party member falsely identified this morning by ABC News' Brian Ross and George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America as the possible suspect in the mass shooting early this morning at a screening of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. He is a 52-year-old Hispanic conservative who joined the Tea Party after becoming disillusioned with the Republican party.

"It was freaky," said Holmes, describing his reaction when ABC News speculated that he was the culprit who entered a crowded theater and opened fire on dozens of innocent men, women, and children. He disconnected his telephone and says that he is worried about members of his family who might be contacted by the media.

ABC News has since corrected its initial report, but tried to share the blame with "social media" and "members of the public" at first:

    An earlier ABC News broadcast report suggested that a Jim Holmes of a Colorado Tea Party organization might be the suspect,  but that report was incorrect. Several other local residents with similar names were also contacted via social media by members of the public who mistook them for the suspect.

Now the correction has been updated, with ABC News and Brian Ross taking full responsibility, and apologizing:                       

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/07/20/Exclusive-Interview-With-James-Michael-Holmes-Colorado-Tea-Party-Member

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Time Mag: 'Nothing Wrong With Politicizing' 'Dark Knight' Murders

At least Mike Grunwald, Time Magazine's senior national correspondent, is honest:

    The Aurora Shooting: Sometimes There’s Nothing Wrong With Politicizing a Tragedy

    If advocates or experts or even politicians think their policy ideas can prevent the next Aurora—by preventing potential killers from obtaining guns, by making sure potential victims can carry guns, or by some other method—then by all means, now is the time to spread the word. Pretty soon, the pundits will be back to “you people” and “you didn’t build this” and whatever new verbal gaffe overwhelms the competition to lead the free world.

    It’s telling that the people who get paid to analyze politics recoil at the notion that its practitioners should connect it to real-life pain. They think they’re covering a sport, an entertainment. But politics matters, because policies matter. “Obamacare” and “gay marriage” are not just issues that might play badly with swing voters or turn the tide in Virginia; they’re issues that affect people’s lives. Gun control and the Second Amendment are issues, too, and now seems like a pretty good time to talk about them.
                       

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2012/07/20/Time-Mag-Exploit-Dark-Knight

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Shooting suspect went to S.D. high school

Police and media gather outside the house said to be the home of the Colorado shooter's mother. — John Gibbins

     AN DIEGO — A 24-year-old man suspected of firing into a crowded Colorado movie theater late Thursday, killing 12, graduated from Westview High School in San Diego, near the Torrey Highlands home where his parents still live.

Suspected shooter James Holmes had moved to Colorado to attend college, police said.

San Diego police Lt. Andra Brown said outside the Holmes’ home that the family is asking for privacy. The family released a written statement that read:

“Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the families and friends of those involved. We ask that the media respect our privacy during this difficult time. Our family is cooperating with authorities in both San Diego, California, and Aurora, Colorado. We are still trying to process this information and we appreciate that people will respect our privacy.”                           

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jul/20/shooting-suspect-went-to-sd-high-school/

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Obama On Aurora Shooting: “Our Time Here Is Limited And Precious”

  As he frequently does at moments of crisis, Obama invoked his role as a parent to describe his feeling after the shooting.

"My daughters go to the movies," he said. "What if Malia and Sasha had been at the theater?"

"Such violence, such evil is senseless," he added.

Obama didn't mention gun control, saying the message from today's events is to appreciate the fragility of life.

"If there's anything to take away from this tragedy it's the reminder that life is very fragile," Obama said, calling for a moment of silence from the audience. "Our time here is limited and precious."

In a particularly odd moment, several of Obama's supporters in Fort Myers chanted "Four More Years" as he concluded the decidedly apolitical event.               

http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/obama-on-aurora-shooting-our-time-here-is-limite?tw_p=twt

yeah he is taking the rest of the day  Friday 3 day weekend for him now.

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Rep. Louie Gohmert Suggests Aurora Theater Shooting Result Of ‘Ongoing Attacks On Judeo-Christan Beliefs’

    Following the Thursday night Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting that has killed 12 people and left more than 30 injured, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) reportedly said that the tragedy was a result of “ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs” and questioned why nobody else in the theater had a gun to take down the shooter in a state where concealed gun carry is allowed.

According to the Huffington Post‘s Jennifer Bendery, during his radio interview on the Heritage Foundation’s “Istook Live!” show with Ernest Istook, Rep. Gohmert was asked why he believes mass shootings like this one take place. The congressman responded that it’s a result of the weakening of Judeo-Christian values in America.

“Some of us happen to believe that when our founders talked about guarding our virtue and freedom, that that was important,” he reportedly said. “Whether it’s John Adams saying our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people [...] Ben Franklin, only a virtuous people are capable of freedom, as nations become corrupt and vicious they have more need of masters. We have been at war with the very pillars, the very foundation of this country.”

“You know what really gets me, as a Christian, is to see the ongoing attacks on Judeo-Christian beliefs, and then some senseless crazy act of a derelict takes place,” Rep. Gohmert lamented.

Istook then reportedly interrupted to clarify for the audience that the motivations of alleged Aurora gunman James Holmes remains unknown. Rep. Gohmert conceded that fact but reportedly went on to suggest the shootings were “a terrorist act” that could have been avoided if the country hadn’t lost its faith in God.                 

http://www.mediaite.com/online/rep-louie-gohmert-suggests-aurora-theater-shooting-result-of-ongoing-attacks-on-judeo-christan-beliefs/

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Kelly: Colorado Movie Theater Shooting Suspect Claimed To Be Batman Nemesis ‘The Joker’

  NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the gunman suspected of attacking a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado resembled Batman’s arch-villain “The Joker” at the time of the shocking attack.

“We have some information, most of it is public. It clearly looks like a deranged individual. He had his hair painted red, he said he was ‘The Joker,’ obviously the ‘enemy’ of Batman,” Kelly said at a news conference Friday.

Kelly said the NYPD is stepping up security at movie theaters around the city after suspect James Holmes walked into a Colorado movie theater during a midnight showing of the new Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” and opened fire, killing 12 people and injuring dozens more.                       

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/07/20/police-14-dead-in-colorado-theater-shooting/

[Stan In FL]

ABC trying to tie this to the tea party was disgusting.  and inevitable.  I was only surprised it didn't happen sooner.  that's probably because it takes a few hours for most news guys to crawl out of their hangover.

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Questions, but few answers, in Colorado shooting; 12 dead, dozens hurt

Officials carefully searched the Colorado home of the suspect in the nation’s deadliest mass shooting in more than five years, a rampage by a lone gunman that turned the local premiere of the last chapter of the Batman trilogy into the latest national tragedy on Friday.

According to local officials, at least 12 people were dead and dozens were injured in the shooting by the gunman, who wore body armor and a gas mask when he entered the movie theater in suburban Aurora, Colo., after midnight Friday. He then set off at least one canister of gas and opened fire with a variety of weapons. The attack came about half an hour into the showing of “The Dark Knight Rises,” an eagerly awaited summer epic that had fans lining up for hours and scalpers reportedly selling tickets for as much as $300.

he suspect was identified as James Holmes, 24, whose apartment on Paris Street in Aurora was being searched by officials. Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said the apartment was booby-trapped with explosives, forcing authorities to evacuate five buildings along the street as a precaution.

PHOTOS: 'Dark Knight Rises' shooting

Little was immediately known about Holmes or about a motive.

He was described by law enforcement sources as a loner. He was a student at the University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus but the school said he was in the process of withdrawing from the graduate program in neuroscience. He was a 2006 graduate of Westview High School in San Diego.

Holmes is expected to appear in court on Monday at the Arapahoe County Justice Center in Centennial, south of Denver. No formal charges have been filed, said John Sarche, a spokesman for the Colorado Judicial Branch.

Holmes’ family lives in the San Diego area but played no role in the shootings, San Diego police spokeswoman Andra Brown told reporters at the family house. At a televised news conference, she read a statement from the family: “Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the families and friends of those involved.”

                       

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-colorado-shooting-update-batman-20120720,0,6404865,full.story

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'Dark Knight' shooting: Police urge public vigilance, caution

   L.A. law enforcement officials are urging increased public vigilance in the wake of the mass shooting in Colorado during a screening of the "Dark Knight" Batman movie.

Several law enforcement agencies around the nation are planning to increase patrols over the weekend at movie theaters, and some cinema operators are also considering more security measures.

"While the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado appears to be an isolated incident, our vigilance has been raised," said Capt. Mike Parker in a statement. "The heightened alert of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department includes increased patrols to create a more visible presence at movie theaters and other places where people congregate."



"As always, we encourage the public: 'If You See Something, Say Something.' The greatest deterrent to crime is often a phone call to law enforcement by a person who sees something that just doesn't look right."

The blockbuster movie is playing on hundreds of screens across Southern California, and many shows are already sold out.

In Aurora, Colo., 12 people were killed and at least 50 injured Friday when a gunman opened fire at a midnight screening of the film. Police have a suspect in custody.                   

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/07/police-urge-public-vigilance-caution-afer-dark-knight-mass-shooting.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lanowblog+%28L.A.+Now%29

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Drop-out PhD student who massacred 12 at Batman movie screening looked like and said he was the JOKER

NY Police Commissioner said gunman said he was Batman's enemy
Shooter James Holmes, 24, dropped out from neuroscience PhD at University of Colorado in June
59 people injured including three-month-old baby and six-year-old
At least 12 dead with youngest victim just 12 years old
Aspiring sportscaster Jessica Ghawi among those killed
Shooter listened to one song on repeat before shooting
Questions over why young children and babies were at late-night screening
Holmes bought a movie ticket, entered with crowd and put on ballistic gear
Set off smoke bomb then fired indiscriminately with as many as four guns
Man was arrested without incident in a car park nearby and told the police that explosives were stored at his home
Apartment block in north Aurora has been evacuated as police figure out how to disarm 'sophisticated' devices inside shooter's home

SNIP

But neighbours at university housing in Denver described Holmes as a recluse who kept himself to himself. One student said: 'No one knew him. No one.'

Holmes - who had been working towards his PhD for a year before dropping out - had one song blaring from his stereo in the hours before the massacre and left the music on repeat in his booby-trapped apartment as he departed to commit the massacre.

His shocked mother confirmed that he was behind the massacre, telling reporters: 'You've got the right man.'

A federal law enforcement official told the Associated Press that Holmes had bought a ticket to the midnight showing and went in to the screen as part of the crowd.

He then propped open an exit door as the movie played and put on donned protective a ballistic helmet, vest, throat protector, gas mask, black tactical gloves.

Witnesses said he threw a smoke grenade and waited for it to explode before opening random fire with an AR-15 assault rifle, a Remmington 12-guage shotgun and a 40-caliber Glock handgun. He also had another 40-caliber Glock in his car, police said.

Twelve people died in the horrific attack, and the bodies of 10 victims are still inside the theatre, police said. The youngest victim is believed to be just 12.

Scores of injured victims are now fighting for their lives; the youngest is just three months old, and is believed to have been shot at blank point range in the back.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2176377/The-Dark-Knight-Rises-screening-shooting-Gunman-gas-mask-shoots-dead-12-people--including-children--midnight-screening-Batman-premiere-Denver.html#ixzz21C0gQKTL

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Shooting suspect from San Diego

SAN DIEGO — A 24-year-old man suspected of firing into a crowded Colorado movie theater early Friday, killing at least 12 and wounding 59 others, graduated from Westview High School in San Diego, near the Rancho Peñasquitos home where his parents still live.

Suspected shooter James Holmes graduated from the high school’s inaugural class in Torrey Highlands in 2006, then earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of California, Riverside, school officials said.

Holmes enrolled at the University of Colorado Medical School as a neuroscience graduate student in June 2011 but voluntarily left the program last month and was in the process of withdrawing from the school, said Dan Meyers, a spokesman for the university. Meyers said he did not know what prompted Holmes to withdraw from the university.

San Diego police Lt. Andra Brown said outside the Holmes’ home that the family is asking for privacy. The family released a written statement that read:

SNIP

Tom Mai, a next-door neighbor of the Holmes family, said he has known the family since they moved to the community about 10 years ago. Mai, a Vietnamese immigrant, has lived there for 30 years.

He said that he remembered Holmes, or “Jimmy,” as a shy teenager, kind of a loner, who did not play or socialize with the neighborhood kids. He said he last saw him two years ago when he came home during summer recess from college.

The family, he said, was nice and involved with a Presbyterian church.

“I’m kind of shocked,” he said. “I am against entertainment — they show very violent movies. I don’t think children of this country should grow up to shoot people.”

Claire Sampankanpanich, a third-year medical school student at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, spent a week working alongside James Holmes at a biotechnology boot camp at Miramar College shortly after graduation.

She still has photos from the camp, she said, looking at them in disbelief.

She remembered that he didn’t interface well with the rest of the students. He had just graduated from Westview, which was one of the region’s newest schools at the time and seemed proud of it, she said.                   

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jul/20/shooting-suspect-went-to-sd-high-school/

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Couple in Colo. Theater Shooting Escape With Baby and Toddler in Tow

    A young couple who'd recently moved from New Mexico and were attending the Aurora, Colo., midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" with their children said they had planned to sit in the front row by the exit in which a gunman entered and allegedly killed at least 12 people.

Jamie Rohrs, 25, said that before the movie started, he and his fiancee, Patricia Legarreta, also 25, had opted for seats in the second-floor balcony. Rohrs held their 4-month-old son, Ethan, while Legarreta sat next to her 4-year-old daughter, Azeria, who was asleep with her head in her mother's lap.

"Where the gunman came in, we were going to sit right there," Rohrs told ABC News today. "God was definitely with us and watching over us. I just thank God we sat where we did and showed up late."

Fifteen minutes into the movie, Legarreta said, someone walked into the theater from the exit and threw something. Police now allege that James Holmes, 24, burst into the movie house and started shooting patrons, killing at least 12 and injuring at least 50.

Legarreta said that after seeing smoke and then hearing gunshots, she heard Rohrs yell for her to get on the ground.

"I threw my daughter on the floor," she said. "I just remember thinking my fiance has my son."

Legarreta said she was wounded in her leg as she stood to move between her daughter and the gun shots.                               

http://abcnews.go.com/US/couple-colo-theater-shooting-escape-baby-toddler-tow/story?id=16821447#.UAnFd5GTVdg

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Colo. shooter purchased guns legally from 3 different stores

(CBS News) More information about the firearms used in the deadly shooting in Aurora, Colo. during the midnight "Dark Knight Rises" screening has come to light. A law enforcement source close to the investigation told CBS News that all the guns were purchased within the last six months, which is considered a "short time to the crime."

The guns were all purchased legally between May 22 and July 6 at three Colorado gun stores.

James Holmes purchased a Smith and Wesson .233 high powered semi-automatic rifle at Gander Mountain gun store in Thornton, Colo, according to the law enforcement source. He also bought a .40 caliber Glock pistol at Gander Mountain gun store in Aurora, Colo. Another .40 caliber glock handgun and a Remington 870 shotgun were purchased at Bass Pro Shops in Denver, Colo.

Wearing full body armor and wearing a gas mask, Holmes allegedly entered the Century 16 theater through a fire exit and threw two gas canisters into the audience. He then opened fire on the audience, hitting 79 people. At least 12 are dead and 59 more are wounded.

Bass Pro Shops offered their "deepest sympathies" to the victims and their families in a statement to CBS News.

"This is an unspeakable tragedy, and we join with all Americans in offering our prayerful support," Larry Whiteley, Manager of Bass Pro Shops Communications, at Springfield, Mo. corp. headquarters, said.

"Based on the records we have reviewed, personnel in our Denver store correctly and fully followed all federal requirements with respect to the sale of one shotgun and one handgun to the individual identified in this incident. Background checks, as required by federal law, were properly conducted, and he was approved. Again, our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We also offer our support and appreciation to the law enforcement and emergency response professionals and all others who responded to give aid to these innocent victims."                       

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57477014/colo-shooter-purchased-guns-legally-from-3-different-stores/

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Colorado shooting suspect struggled to find work, neighbor says

The alleged gunman in the deadly "Dark Knight" movie theater shooting had trouble finding work before he returned to school to study neuroscience in Colorado, a San Diego neighbor said Friday.

James Holmes, 24, who graduated from Westview High School in San Diego in 2006, could not find work after graduating from UC Riverside in 2010 with a bachelor's in neuroscience, said Tom Mai, a retired electrical engineer who lives in the Rancho Penasquitos neighborhood where Holmes grew up.

Holmes, who was arrested after the shooting Friday in suburban Denver, was described by law enforcement sources as a loner. He was a student at the University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus, but the school said he was in the process of withdrawing from the graduate program in neuroscience.


A former high school classmate, Keith Goodwin, 24, now a Columbia Law School student, said he had a couple of conversations with Holmes during an Advanced Placement European history class at Westview. He called Holmes a “generally pleasant guy.”

“James was certainly not someone I would have ever imagined shooting somebody,” Goodwin said.

Tori Burton, 24, a fellow with the National Institutes of Health, said Holmes was part of Westview's cross-country team for at least one year.



“He was very quiet,” she said. “He was a nice guy when you did occasionally talk to him. But he was definitely more introverted.”
Holmes' last known address in California was at the University Iowa Gardens Apartments less than a mile from UC Riverside. Maintenance worker Jose Torres, 45, said he remembered Holmes as a quiet person who kept mostly to himself.

"He didn't talk too much," Torres said. “Friendly? No."

Mai said he remembers Holmes as a very shy, well-mannered young man who was heavily involved in their local church.

"He seemed to be a normal kid, I don't know what triggered it. This makes me very sad," Mai said.                     

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/07/colorado-shooting-suspect-struggled-to-find-work-neighbor-says.html