Colorado shooting suspect's apartment may be rigged with bombs
UPDATE, 10:00 a.m. :
(AP) Police say the apartment of the suspect in a mass shooting at a Denver area movie theater is booby trapped, so they've evacuated five surrounding buildings.
Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates says bomb technicians are determining how to disarm flammable or explosive material in the third-floor apartment. He says police could be there some time.
Oates says pictures from inside the apartment are fairly disturbing and the devices look to be sophisticated.
FBI agents and police used a hook and ladder fire truck and put a camera at the end of 12-foot pole inside the apartment where James Holmes lives.
Holmes dropped out of medical school last month.
Spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery says Holmes was a student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver until last month. She did not know when he started school or why he withdrew.
UPDATE, 9:40a.m. :
At least 12 people are dead and 50 others have been treated at Denver area hospitals after a shooting at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie.
``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.'' The gunman released a gas that smelled like pepper spray from a green canister with a tag on it, Seeger said.
``I thought it was showmanship. I didn't think it was real,'' she said.
Seeger said she was in the second row, about four feet from the gunman, when he pointed a gun at her face. At first, ``I was just a deer in headlights. I didn't know what to do,'' she said. Then she ducked to the ground as the gunman shot people seated behind her.
She said she began crawling toward an exit when she saw a girl about 14 years old ``lying lifeless on the stairs.'' She saw a man with a bullet wound in his back and tried to check his pulse, but ``I had to go. I was going to get shot.''
The suspect was taken into custody and identified by federal law enforcement officials as 24-year-old James Holmes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Authorities did not release a motive. The FBI said there was no indication that the shooting is tied to any terrorist groups.
Victims are being treated for chemical exposure apparently related to canisters thrown by the gunman. Some of those injured are children, including a 3-month-old infant who was shot.
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.
The movie opened across the world Friday with midnight showings in Wichita and the rest of the U.S. Guards were at a screening at a movie theater in New York's Times Square. The shooting prompted officials to cancel the Paris premiere, with workers pulling down the red carpet display at a theater on the famed Champs-Elysees Avenue.
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.''
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.
Friday's attack began shortly after midnight at the multiplex theater at a mall in Aurora, the state's third-largest city.
The film has several scenes of public mayhem a hallmark of superhero movies. In one scene, the main villain Bane leads an attack on the stock exchange and, in another, leads a shooting and bombing rampage on a packed football stadium.
It was the final installment of the ``Dark Knight'' trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Christian Bale as Batman. The series has a darker tone than previous Batman incarnations. It is the follow-up to ``The Dark Knight,'' which won Heath Ledger a posthumous Oscar for his searing portrayal of The Joker.
UPDATE:
Authorities have revised the number of people killed early Friday morning in Aurora to 12. Police have also identified the shooter as 24 year-old James Holmes.
Though witnesses have given conflicting reports, authorities say he acted alone. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest and a riot helmet when he was taken into custody, according to ABC News.
There are reports that at least one of the injured could be as young as 3 months-old while the oldest is in their sixties. Friends and family are turning to social media sites as people begin reporting names of some of those killed.
Meanwhile, police from several departments are at the suspect's apartment. Several bomb squad units are investigating to determine if there are any explosives inside of the suspect's apartment.
Federal authorities are now involved in the investigation with ABC News reporting at least 100 agents now actively involved. President Obama was notified of the situation early Friday morning by Homeland Security.
The White House released the following statement:
"Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado. Federal and local law enforcement are still responding, and my Administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time. We are committed to bringing whoever was responsible to justice, ensuring the safety of our people, and caring for those who have been wounded. As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family. All of us must have the people of Aurora in our thoughts and prayers as they confront the loss of family, friends, and neighbors, and we must stand together with them in the challenging hours and days to come."
Video taken from cell phone as people evacuated the theater courtesy ABC News.
Click here for the latest information from ABC News.
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ABC News reports that at least 14 people have been killed, 50 more are injured after a mass-shooting in Aurora, Colorado. It happened early Friday morning at a screening of the latest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises."
Police in Aurora cannot confirm the number killed, but ABC News says it has word of at least 14 who were shot by a suspect who may have also set off some type of explosive.
Police do have one suspect in custody and have recovered a gun. The man told police there are explosives inside of his home.
Reports indicate that the man's apartment complex has been evacuated. There is also word that a robot from the department's bomb squad was brought in to check the suspect's car.
It is believed that the gunman acted alone in the shooting.ABC News reports that police are speaking with friends and associates of the suspect to try to determine more information.
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