AURORA, Colo. — Police say the Colorado shooting suspect planned the rampage that killed 12 and injured dozens of others at a suburban movie theater with "calculation and deliberation."
They say James Holmes received months of deliveries in advance that authorities believe armed him for battle and were used to rig his apartment with explosives aimed at killing first responders.
Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates says "You think we're angry? We sure as hell are angry." Authorities are still working to clear dangerous explosive materials from inside Holmes' suburban Denver apartment, which Oates says was booby trapped to kill "whoever entered it," noting it would have likely been one of his officers.
A law enforcement official says federal authorities have detonated one small explosive and disarmed another.
The official says Holmes' apartment appears to have three types of explosives -- jars filled with accelerants, chemicals that would explode when mixed together and more than 30 "improvised grenades."
FBI Special agent James Yacone says that while most of the explosives have been rendered safe, "the threat has not been completely eliminated." But he says families should be allowed back into their apartments by Sunday.
Colorado authorities have released the names of all 12 victims killed in a fatal movie shooting.
The Arapahoe County coroner's office list includes eight males and four females, the youngest being a 6-year-old girl.
All died of gunshot wounds sustained during the Friday shooting.
One of the 12 has been tentatively identified and is awaiting final identification.
The victims' families were previously notified and some identified their relatives as victims, but the list released Saturday is the first official confirmation from authorities.
Oates says there are 70 victims but not all were shot. Eleven are in critical condition.
The chief says Holmes purchased four guns at local gun shops and 6,000 rounds of ammunition through the Internet.
Holmes was in custody Friday.
Witnesses described a scene of chaos as Holmes opened fire on the crowd.
"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.
Authorities still have not released a motive in the shooting.
Holmes had an assault rifle, a shotgun and two pistols, a federal law enforcement official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.
FBI agents and police used a hook and ladder fire truck to reach Holmes' apartment in suburban Denver, Aurora police Chief Dan Oates said. They put a camera at the end of 12-foot pole inside the apartment, and discovered that the unit was booby trapped. Authorities evacuated five buildings as they determine how to disarm flammable and explosive material.
Victims were being treated for chemical exposure apparently related to canisters thrown by the gunman. Some of those injured are children, including a 4-month-old baby who was released from the hospital.
The movie opened across the world Friday with midnight showings in the U.S. 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.
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."
Witness Shayla Roeder said she saw a young teenage girl on the ground bleeding outside the theater. "She just had this horrible look in her eyes .... We made eye contact and I could tell she was not all right," Roeder said.
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 theater, Salina Jordan told the Denver Post. She said some police were carrying and dragging bodies.
Hayden Miller told KUSA-TV that he heard several shots. "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 theater."
Officers later found the gunman near a car behind the theater. Oates said there was no evidence of any other attackers.
Holmes was a student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver until last month, spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery said. She did not know when he started school or why he withdrew.
At least 24 people were being treated at Denver area hospitals.
"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.
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Colorado suspect was brilliant science student
James Eagen Holmes came from a well-tended San Diego enclave of two-story homes with red-tiled roofs, where neighbors recall him as a clean-cut, studious young man of sparing words.
Tall and dark-haired, he stared clear-eyed at the camera in a 2004 high school yearbook snapshot, wearing a white junior varsity soccer uniform — No. 16. The son of a nurse, Arlene, and a software company manager, Robert, James Holmes was a brilliant science scholar in college.
The biggest mystery surrounding the 24-year-old doctoral student was why he would have pulled on a gas mask and shot dozens of people early Friday in a suburban Denver movie theater, as police allege.
In the age of widespread social media, no trace of Holmes could be found on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter or anywhere on the Web. Either he never engaged or he scrubbed his trail.
A longtime neighbor in San Diego, where Holmes grew up, remembers only a "shy guy ... a loner" from a churchgoing family. In addition to playing soccer at Westview High School, he ran cross country.
The bookish demeanor concealed an unspooling life. Holmes struggled to find work after graduating with highest honors in spring 2010 with a neuroscience degree from the University of California, Riverside, said the neighbor, retired electrical engineer Tom Mai.
Holmes enrolled last year in a neuroscience Ph.D. program at the University of Colorado-Denver but left the program in June, said school officials, who didn't provide a reason.
As part of the advanced program in Denver, a James Holmes had been listed as making a presentation in May about Micro DNA Biomarkers in a class named "Biological Basis of Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders."
In academic achievement, "he was at the top of the top," recalled Riverside Chancellor Timothy P. White.
Holmes concentrated his study on "how we all behave," White added. "It's ironic and sad."
From a distance, Holmes' life appears unblemished, a young man with unlimited potential. There are no indications he had problems with police.
Somehow, the acclaimed student and quiet neighbor reached a point where he painted his hair red, called himself "The Joker," the green-haired villain from the Batman movies, according to New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who said he had been briefed on the matter.
Authorities say Holmes arrived at the theater dressed in black, outfitted in a gas mask, ballistic helmet, vest and leggings, black tactical gloves and protectors on his throat and groin. He was armed with an assault-style rifle, a shotgun and Glock handgun.
Police said he started his attack by tossing at least gas canisters into the theater, where he had bought a ticket for the midnight showing of "The Dark Night Rises," the new Batman movie.
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A federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing probe into the rampage, said Holmes bought four guns from retailers in the last two months.
Holmes bought his first Glock pistol in Aurora, Colo., on May 22. Six days later, he picked up a Remington shotgun in Denver. About two weeks later, he bought a .223 caliber Smith & Wesson rifle in Thornton, Colo., and then a second Glock in Denver on July 6 — 13 days before the shooting, the official said.
A high-volume drum magazine was attached to the rifle, an assault weapon, the official said.
Julie Adams, whose son played junior varsity soccer with Holmes, said her son remembered little about the suspect, which was unusual for the tight-knit team.
"I don't think many of the kids (teammates) knew him. He was kind of a loner," she said.
Jackie Mitchell, a furniture mover who lives several blocks from the suspect's apartment building in Colorado, said he had drinks with Holmes at a local bar on Tuesday night, though he gave no sign of being distressed or violent.
After Holmes approached him, "we just talked about football. He had a backpack and geeky glasses and seemed like a real intelligent guy, and I figured he was one of the college students," Mitchell said.
When Mitchell saw Holmes' photo after the shooting, "the hair stood up on my back," he said. "I know this guy."
Holmes is not talking to police and has asked for a lawyer, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing case. Police found jars of chemicals in Holmes' booby-trapped apartment with wires nearby, the law enforcement official said.
When he surrendered meekly in the movie house parking lot, Holmes told authorities what he'd done at his residence in the Denver suburb of Aurora, the third most populous city in Colorado.
"Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the families and friends of those involved," Holmes' family said in a statement Friday. "We ask that the media respect our privacy during this difficult time."
San Diego Superior Court spokeswoman Karen Dalton said there were no records found under his name, not even for a traffic ticket. Riverside County prosecutors also have no criminal record for him, said John Hall, a spokesman for the district attorney's office.
On Friday morning, police escorted the suspect's father from the family's San Diego home. The mother stayed inside, receiving visitors who came to offer support.
San Diego police spokeswoman Lt. Andra Brown spoke to reporters in the driveway of the Holmes' home, on behalf of the family.
"As you can understand, the Holmes family is very upset about all of this," she said. "It's a tragic event and it's taken everyone by surprise."
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Police stepping up security
Channel 2's Ryan Young went along with DeKalb County police as they conducted security checks at area movie theaters.
DeKalb police said they are adding extra patrols Friday night in light of the shooting in Colorado.
"I use to live in Colorado Springs. Yes, that was sad that would happen and would spoil the big effect of people going out there to the movies at midnight," moviegoer Louretta Dunbar told Young.
Dunbar and her family said they couldn't wait to see the newest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," but not before reflecting on the shooting in Colorado.
"Pray for the families out there in Colorado," Dunbar said.
DeKalb County's Public Safety Director, William "Wiz" Miller, told Young he knew people may be concerned about their safety so he moved his team.
"As soon as I woke up and heard what happen, I assembled my team and said we got to get out and meet the mangers of our movie theaters, reassure them that DeKalb Public Safety is here for them," Miller said.
Young joined the director as he moved through DeKalb County talking with movie managers at several locations.
"Whatever courtesy we can extend them so their patrons feel safe coming to the movies tonight, we are going to give them," Miller said
Now, the police department is urging anyone to call police if they see strange activity
"(We're) going to have undercover officers tonight, extra patrol units tonight. We have off duty (officers) and they will have extra tonight," Miller said.
That Atlanta Police Department sent out a statement saying, in part, "At this time, we are not aware of any ongoing or immediate threats to movie theaters. We are in constant contact with the FBI, and if that changes we would immediately act to notify theater owners and patrons and provide extra security. We have a working relationship with private security agencies in the City of Atlanta, and will certainly assist them with any requests for extra security or patrols to ensure the safety and peace-of-mind of their patrons.
The Gwinnett County Police Department said they are also looking out for movie goes.
"Gwinnett County police will be more vigilant this weekend in making their presence known and being seen around movie theaters in the county. Officers who are on duty at theaters will also make sure patrons know they are there to keep the peace and will be watching for questionable activity," they said in a statement to Channel 2 Action News.
Cobb County also said their officers will be more diligent this weekend as people head to the movies.
"Movie theaters in Cobb County generally have a police officer of sheriff's deputy working to maintain security at the theaters. They will be working with a heightened awareness of what happened in Colorado and be on the lookout for any suspicious activity or potential copycats," they said in a statement.
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Shooting hits home for Buckhead family
The shooting comes days before the 13th anniversary of the Buckhead Massacre, where a day trader opened fire inside two busy office buildings.
Channel 2's Craig Lucie spoke with one victim's family members, who said learning of the tragedy gave them chills.
July 29, 1999, a 44-year-old day trader tore through two office buildings on Piedmont Road killing nine people and wounding 20 others.
One of those killed was Alan Tenenbaum. It was another senseless shooting spree and one that his family hoped no one else would ever have to experience.
Thirteen years ago people referred to it as the Buckhead Massacre and Channel 2 Action News was there during the chaotic moments when police searched for the shooter.
"It makes me relive that day and what happened," said Debra Tenenbaum, Alan's wife.
With her now-26- and 24-year-old daughters by her side, Tenenbaum said she got an eerie feeling when she turned on the TV Friday morning and saw the Colorado shooting at the premier of the new Batman movie
"My son was at the premier last night," she said.
Her son was 3 and her daughters, Brittany and Megan, were 13 and 11, when their father was shot and killed.
They said there's something bigger that can be learned from these tragedies.
"A consciousness raising about mental health and about taking care of yourself. Be mindful of what others are going through," Megan Tenenbaum said. "Guns have a purpose, and they serve a purpose to protect people, and you can't just eliminate that, and I think a really good way to get at the source is mental help and raising awareness about people going through a hard time."
The Tenenbaums' hardest times are in the past, and they hope others will learn to make the most of everyday with their friends and loved ones.
"You can see that we are still great and really strong, and you know, life goes on, and you make the best of it and to have someone as inspiring as you to look at and really makes it all move forward," Brittany Tenebaum said.
The Tenenbaum family said their hearts go out to everyone affected and they will be connected to them not just today or this week, but forever.
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The Associated Press along with Channel 2's Craig Lucie and Ryan Young contributed to this article.
WSBTV
