12 Killed at Opening Night of Dark Knight in Denver Suburb
Police in the Denver suburb of Aurora reported 12 people killed and dozens of wounded at the opening night of the newest Batman movie, Dark Knight.
Police Chief Dan Oates said a 24-year-old suspect wearing black, a flak jacket and a gas mask was arrested near his car in the theater parking lot. He was identified as James Eagan Holmes (photo, right), who was driving a car with Colorado plates.
The only thing on his police record was a traffic ticket. Gates said he had at least two Glock pistols, a shotgun and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. He apparently put up no resistance and was arrested a few minutes after the incident.
The shootings brought back memories of the Columbine High School massacre, which occurred less than 20 miles away. Many children were in the audience, and one three-month-old was wounded.
Bullets reportedly flew through one theater wall into the next chamber.
The suspect told police he had explosives in his apartment, and it was being searched. Bomb teams from the Denver Metro Area were searching the parking lot of the Century 16. Hours later agents were still clearing his apartment of booby-traps.
Apparently some canisters of gas were tossed in the area before the shooting began.
“Right now we only know of one gunman,” Gates said. “The shooting went on for some time.”
Many police were involved in providing to safety to victims and driving them to area hospitals.
Some witnesses told area TV and tweeted that they thought at least one other person was involved, but there was no evidence immediately.
Witnesses were taken to Gateway High School to be questioned.
Holmes was identified as a medical student at the University of Colorado in Denver.
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