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Subscribe to RSSLaw enforcement officials have said that alleged gunman James Holmes sent the package to the University of Colorado medical center in Aurora. It was said to contain detailed writings about 'killing people' and it was Holmes himself who told police where to find it. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.
Authorities recovered a package that apparently was mailed by James Eagan Holmes after the shooting suspect told investigators to look for the item on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News on Wednesday.
The source told NBC that the package contained writings about killing people, but could not go into more detail.
Holmes, a 24-year-old who was in the process of withdrawing from a graduate program in neuroscience at the university, has been arrested in connection with the killing of 12 and the injuring of 58 in a shooting spree at the midnight premier of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colo. on Friday.
Police recovered the package on Monday after getting a search warrant for the medical center mail room and then getting a second warrant to actually open the package, the law enforcement source said. (Prosecutors later said in court documents that there was only a single search warrant.)
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Police found the package as Holmes described it, including his name in the return address, and it's now being analyzed, the source said.
It was unclear how long the package had been in the mail room before its discovery.
In response to reporters' queries about the package, the Anschutz Medical Campus issued a statement saying it could not comment on anything regarding the ongoing criminal investigation into the theater shooting, under order of Arapahoe County District Judge William Sylvester.
The statement did provide general information about how mail is handled on campus.
"The University centrally receives mail from the United States Postal Service. The University then delivers the mail to the address on the Anschutz Medical Campus the same day it is received," the statement said. "The University's mail service is not open on Saturday. Saturday mail is sorted and delivered Monday morning. The University does not log or track mail/packages unless it requires a signature from the United States Postal Service."
Holmes made his first court appearance before the court in Arapahoe on Monday, amid grieving for the victims.
Wearing a red prison jumpsuit, Holmes appeared with public defender Tamara Brady for the hearing. Holmes, who said nothing during the proceedings, had several days' beard growth and bright red dyed hair. He looked down or off into the distance, at times raising his eyebrows in a quizzical expression or frowning as if concentrating.
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A hearing of formal charges, expected to be multiple counts of first-degree murder, is set for next Monday. Then the state must decide whether to seek the death penalty.
Holmes had been stockpiling ammunition, weapons, body armor and explosives for months, said authorities who tracked his purchases. After his arrest, teams of experts worked for two days to disarm Holmes' apartment, which contained an elaborate web of explosive and incendiary devices set to be triggered by tripwires.
NBC News' Kate Snow and Kari Huus contributed to this report.
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- Aurora shootings: 911 dispatcher recalls night of horror
- Lung transplant didn’t come from Colo. victims
- Shocked Aurora vows, 'We will remember' victims of theater shooting
- Aurora pastor: 'I don't know' why God allowed theater slaughter
- Double tragedy: Aurora shooting victim learns her daughter was killed
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OK, those of you who want to pass more laws to deprive me of my rights should save your money. The municipalities wiill be raising taxes to pay to me after I file a Title 42 chapter 1983 case in state or federal court.
Just because someone else commits a crime don't make it ok to treat everyone like criminals.
Legislation really does need to pass regulations on how weapons are just being purchased off from the internet.
If they can land in the hands of a fiend like James then what's stopping anyone else from getting weapons too? This guy was stock-piled LOADED with explosives and arms. Now how the heck did he manage to get all that stuff without raising the slightest of suspicion?
Of course we should. In fact, we should just ban all weapons. That way, the only people who will have access to guns are the criminals and the government. That situation has worked out well for Mexico. It's not like we hear about drug cartels slaughtering people and dumping their bodies in public places on a daily basis. /sarcasm all
it was just reported on tv that people want the owners to tear down the Theatre so a memorial can be made.Listen the event was a tragedy but realisticly nobodys tearing down anything. if we tear down everything when people are killed there will be nothing left.
It sure is good that there aren't mountains of Glaring Holes in this story, or that it's been changed and twisted so many times that it's made everyone with a brain think, "Gosh, that's kinda strange."
It sure is good there aren't dozens of loop holes and inconsistencies with this whole thing, or how conveniently staged it was.
Yup. Nothing fishy at all.
anything is posible and I would someday like to be telling my grandchildren , Some guy on the web ,said it first. Stranger things have happend , We still don't know what happend with J.Kennedy???? I spent a number years in the Marine Corps in the 70's and early80's and went places we were not suppose to be and did thing's , To this day , say we did'nt do,don't do and won't do !!! BUT WE DID DO IT and will keep on doing it. And we will keep saying we don't. And the American sheep will keep believeing the powers that be. this an election year , anything could happen...
Thanks for coming out with truth timewilltell. Its going to take you and people like you going to bat for the truth for anything in our country to change for the better. Say it loud and proud. The truth will set you free.
It sure is strange how the gunman walked from the back of the theater, leaving a trail of bloody foot prints - and dropped his gas mask at the edge of the street. . . . Almost like someone picked up the gunman and he just dropped his gas mask before being picked up.
Sure is weird how none of the bloody "foot prints" from the scene of the shooting DON'T lead back to the car where the police found a drugged up James Holmes sitting - dressed up in body armor and other stuff. Weird how there is absolutely NO BLOOD anywhere around Jame Holme's car.
Weird that.
So what's it going to be? . . . Are we going to just keep killing our own civilians and terrorizing everyone until our entire country is a large Prison . . . ?
Is that really what Government work is about now? . . . Killing civilians and -framing- drugged up graduate students? . . .
Gutless turds.
THE QUEENS OF DIAMONDS?
A SLEEPER CELL?
MACHURIAN CANDIDATE?
MOPED...what are you talking about?
There was a man interviewed the day of the shooting who said
that the guy who shot was NOT THE GUY THAT WAS SITTING
in the theater.
He testified in Court as reported by CNN that the man sitting in the front
row who went outside when his phone rang, had a goatee...the man arrested
did not have one.
What's going on here? MOPED?
Pre-meditated murder. Death penalty for the home-made terrorist James Eagan Holmes.
The news is telling us he got weapons off the internet legally. I hope they crack into his computer/account and find whatever else this guy got too. With guys like James being able to just buy weapons off the internet I hope legislation adds security measures so it's easier to track who or where these weapons are going to! This guy was LOADED with weapons!!!
This is one of the reasons why the death-penalty should NOT be abolished. It's reserved for filthy scum like James and those who commit heinous crimes against humanity and society.
I shed not a tear for those who want to go out and cause unnecessary pain and grief and irreversible deaths. James Eagan Holmes is a home-made terrorist and should be treated as one. Give him the death penalty.
All BECAUSE THIS FAGGOT COULDN'T FIND A JOB?
Paid Keyboard Warrior advocating death penalty of a drugged graduate student who was probably framed.
Nice.
Innocent until proven guilty. And killing a bunch of people doens't make you a faggot, and calling people faggots makes you appear to be an idiot.
Are you ignorant or just plain stupid.
This MAN yes, a full-grown and capable ADULT went out and killed those people. He even killed Children. Little babies dude.
There is no excuse for his behavior. Not to mention the police just found the "message" he left in the university mailing room about killing people.
This joker is far from innocent. His apartment was laced with booby-traps. Yea i'm sure someone just went in and did that himself and the guy simply had no idea how that just got in there.
Get out of my face troll.
Innocent until proven guilty...its the law. When he is proven guilty (and he probably will be) then you can say what you will....until then, innocent until proven guilty, unless you saw the crime perpetrated with your two eyes and have PROOF and belief beyond the SHADOW of a doubt. When someone's life is in the balance you better be damned sure of your convictions, because you could be next.
I always enjoy reading the comment section on news stories. I am warmed in my heart by all the people making every possible assumption they could possible make while generating conclusions that have nothing to do with the facts of the case. Grind away on that personal axe, and enjoy y'all.
It is hearten ing that a number of those postings are asking the relevant question: Isn't it POSSIBLE [if not likely] that a grad student in neurophysiology at that level could have not only planned the massacre, but ALSO have carefully planned his subsequent response and actions to create the impression that he is not culpable by reason of insanity.
The Governor fell into the obvious trap of thinking that, because the actions were so monstrous, the person behind those actions could not have been rational. That is nonsense. There are many examples of monstrous conduct by actors we deem to have been criminal but not so mentally impaired as to escape the consequences of their actions. Ghadaffi, Amin, Bashar Al- Assad, Timothy McVeigh and many others deliberately engaged in mass murder that most of us would deem unthinkable, but their actions were deliberate and purposeful. These are sociopaths. But just because they choose not to respect the basic rules of society and humanity does not mean that they do not know what those standards are or are incapable of conforming their actions to such boundaries. They simply and deliberately choose NOT to follow fundamental rules of human conduct. Holmes, I think we will find, knew very well that what he planned to do and what he carried out was criminal and wrong. I am not an advocate of the death penalty. However, Holmes should be sent to prison to await trial and kept there as long as he may live. The fact that he fantasized himself a comic book villain is not insanity, buut it does show that he intended mass death and destruction
We financially and politically supported Ghadaffi as well as armed him.
Half the "psychos" that you talk about were manufactured by the Good Ol' U S of A, buddy.
Isn't it possible since he was studying mind control that he became a victim of some nefarious persons?
The Manchurian Candidate
Jeanette, or maybe learned of some militarized neurological weapon, and decided to blow the whistle...
Clearly this guy is literally trying to get away with murder. He was very calculating with his plan. It's pretty obvious that he had no desire to die or get injured because he had several opportunities to off himself or initiate suicide by cop. His self-preservation instincts are definitely intact (I qualify that as sane). This just looks like a guy who decided that he wanted to kill some people for whatever reason. Some how convinced himself that he could get away with it. He needs to go down.
America is it's own worst enemy.
With the kinds of people we have running out intelligence industry . . .
God help us all.
Here's a hint:
The key to winning hearts and minds - as well as the favor of the American people?
Doesn't involve murdering them. Or framing college grads.
That's the work of cold-blooded incompetent amateurs.
And we know better. This is -embarrassing- and dishonorable.
There is a better way.
But we're going to have to drop the "killing our own civilians" routine -fast-
I think we as a society have gotten too accepting of insanity as a defense. If he is found guilty, put him to death or imprison him. If he didn't know what he was doing, then he won't understand the lethal injection, so justice is served and he wasn't cruelly punished. I'm tired of everyone trying to find understand this, like a mental disorder will bring us all peace and closure. If a decade is spent "curing" him, is he going run the corner grocery with everyone so happy that he is well? But go ahead Colorado, spend millions on him, when the millions would be better spent on the victims families or medical care.
It looks like we haven't evolved much since we burned people at the stake in the 1600s for hearing voices. Just because he planned something meticulously doesn't mean that he can't be psychotic. Competency isn't some simple black-and-white concept. He is dangerous and should be locked up, but it won't accomplish a damn thing to execute him. It sure won't have any effect on future psychotics.
Are we supposed to believe that this nerdy honor student who comes from a nice family and has never been in trouble is suddenly a raging sociopath who just killed a bunch of people for the thrill of it? That doesn't make any sense at all. Sociopathy doesn't just suddenly appear at age 24. When a sociopath commits a crime like this, there is always a trail of escalating violence and disregard for the rules that leads up to the big event. He is obviously mentally ill; you don't have to be a psychiatrist to figure that out.
Of course, this is America, and in America when something bad happens, we always need to blame someone and punish them...even if it doesn't make any sense. If Saudis attack your country for example, you crush Iraq and kill Saddam.
If any of you are that angry about the whole thing, try eating a raw steak! But punishing him isn't going to prevent this from happening again. These incidents keep happening over and over in this country and rarely happen anyplace else. These events are signs of a sick, hyperviolent, gun-crazed society that doesn't care about treating mental illness.
Here is my prediction: Rage, rage, sorrow, rage, sorrow, rage, sorrow, slowly lose interest, indifference, nothing changes, incident forgotten, new mass casualty incident next month, rage, rage, sorrow...
What the death-penalty will do is prevent this guy from harming another human-soul ever again.
It will also say that the government is serious protecting the health and quality life of it's citizens from heinous crimes and home-grown terrorist and will not allow people to get away with murdering innocent life. Those people he affected have been affected forever even the little children that ended up being in the cross-fire of this maniac's bullets.
Personally, I think a crime of the magnitude she just go before the court, found guilt as is obvious, than take this nut case out back and execute. There is no denying he did this. So shoot him already.
So what's it going to be? . . . Are we going to just keep killing our own civilians and terrorizing everyone until our entire country is a large Prison . . . ?
Is that really what Government work is about now? . . . Killing civilians and -framing- drugged up graduate students? . . .
I'm thinking he was a fall guy.
Somebody has to live in those FEMA camps.
Are we supposed to believe that "the joker" sent a notebook with stick figures in it to a psychiatrist? And having swallowed that whopper, we''re then asked to believe it sat in the mail room until it was conveniently found AFTER the attack. To what end are we being asked to suspend disbelief? So the TSA has an excuse to install their naked body scanners and grope us at the movie theatres? How happy Big Sis would be to perform an explosives test on our popcorn, drinks, and Skittles. This attack is a bit too convenient just before the potential ratification of the UN small arms treaty.
Oh yes. Because the American people are the "stupid gullible ones."
The incompetent morons that dreamed up this script that "thought" Americans were dumb enough to swallow this? OH yeah, they're really bright. Yup.
They certainly "know what they're doing" and no one could ever have figured this out.
i agree this guy is faking...i would love to see him in solitaty confinement for the rest of his life...death will be to quick and that is probley what he wants..
Really Susan?
What if he was a drugged up fall guy and was completely innocent?
Still want to give him the chair?
There's no foot prints from the shooting leading to his car. His gas mask was found at the end of the road.
Sounds like you want to potentially -kill- a framed man.
Moped: I believe someone is still keeping him drugged.
I don't know if the guy was framed, brainwashed, or just plain crazy -- but this whole thing stinks to high heaven. And just like Pavlovian dogs, the gun control advocates are salivating for further restrictions of our Second Amendment rights.
Murders can be sociopaths and can have high degrees of intelligence. He was educated enough to find all the weapons and set-up booby-traps devices in his apartment. As well as go out shooting people at a movie-theater.
They don't necessarily have to walk around drooling and screaming. Even some of the older black-and-white movies portray this and history itself.
The news also reported that he had chemicals that when mixed they would explode. And this guy was getting a degree in medical school? Hello somebody obliviously he knew how to measure things and what reacted to what.
He used his intelligence for the purpose of corruption and evil.
I think someone needs to get their B.S. detector checked. Do you really expect me to believe the following without question?:
No one said James Holmes isn't intelligent enough to devise and follow through with a complicated terrorist attack. But what I am questioning is the timing and the motivation for such an attack.
Is it me, or is this Holmes guy trying to channel Susan Sarandon?
Put a new rope in his cell let him hang him self or give him razor blades will have saved $$$$$ for the state.
THERE WERE NO FOOT PRINTS GOING TO HIS CAR.
HIS GAS MASK WAS FOUND AT THE END OF THE ROAD, WHERE THE BLOODY FOOT PRINTS END.
JAMES HOLMES WAS FOUND IN HIS CAR, WHERE THERE WERE -NO- FOOT PRINTS.
HE WAS FRAMED.
Moped: I agree. Have you seen the project he was working on? The paperwork for the "Ultra" program at the college?
That's interesting? But I'm not delving into that right now.
First? I'd like to make it crystal clear that this kid is being framed.
Second - the evidence - which has been flooded all over the internet and has already been downloaded by thousands DOES NOT ADD UP:
This kid -didn't- do it.
If he blew his brains out its possible he was framed but since he is still alive and talking he can answer that question.
YOU ARE ABOUT TO POTENTIALLY SENTENCE AN INNOCENT MAN TO DEATH.
It is entirely possible to be insane and still be held accountable for murder. Many mental illness do not preclude being responsible for your actions. Case in point, Sandusky thought that being histrionic was enough to keep him out of prison. However, to most mental health professionals, histrionic personalities may just as well be called A-holes. Irritating, needy, self centered people who know what they do is wrong but they feel entitled to do it. This guy has a different problem, but there is most certainly something wrong with him. We all hope he pays for this crime, but we should not fear the court system trying to find out what the hell is wrong with him just because it might mean he would not be executed. He is clearly a worthless POS that should be stood up and shot, but it may be he legally holds a "get out of death row free" card in the form of a diagnosis. Even so, if we know what his problem is, we might be able to catch the next one before he/she kills someone.
Exactly. Ignore evidence that possibly indicates that James Holmes was potentially drugged and set up to take the fall.
GOOD CALL.
@Moped - seriously - did you see the same footage and photographs the rest of us saw? Ther was blood on the side walk that was directional and had trails behind them, suggesting foorward movement.
As for him telling people now about the package in the mailroom - it's entirely believeable to me that incompetence and summer vacations are a more likely explanation than conspiracy. As for sending them to his professor - again seems just as likely that his message was some vengeful, rambling tirade about how unfairly he was treated on his comprehensive exams and how they missed what a genius he was than some cry for help.
Just not seeing what basis you have for assuming he's some drugged up fall guy for some major conspiracy?
Chain Smoker, just like the Norway Killer - chemicals in cigarettes cause psychotic behavior!
To all of you who insist he is not insane - don't get your logic at all. No one wants to be locked up in the mental ward in prison or in a loony bin. If he were sane - you are basically saying that his goal was in fact to murder people, get caught for it and get off with an insanity plea and live out the rest of his life in one of two horrible places? Wtf? That in itself IS INSANE! So yeah. Lacks logic. Your theory about his 'faking' it don't hold any water. mary-313646 - The point wouldn't be to rehabilitate this person. That would be impossible as it usually is with people with extreme mental disorders. but it is possible to study him and find out why and that's important for everyone. If we can figure out why people develop this insanity - we might have a shot at stopping more people from turning out this way. So yeah. We should care about the why.
Dude. The guy's probably drugged out of his mind. He's probably been chemically lobotomized.
I'm surprised he's alive - let alone knows who he is.
I wish they would stop showing his picture (he looks too much like Susan Sarandon).
I wish they would stop giving him publicity (what he wants).
I'm so tired of this "let no good crisis go to waste" mentality.
For anyone to use this type of tragedy as a springboard to further their own opinion/agenda is absolutely deplorable.
For anyone to claim insight at this point is absolute stupidity.
Does no one remember how much the media got wrong in the days after Columbine?
Can we not focus on those in need simply because they are?
As for this bastard, may I quote a favorite comedian: "What, you can't be crazy no mo'?"
I'm happy that you are all so convinced of this guy's guilt, must be nice. You are all so sure, but if fact all you have done is listened to what you were told and joined the mob. Were you there? Did you see him pull the trigger? Innocence before PROVEN guilt is the LAW in this land, until the public changes it. YOU, the public, are changing this. Better be careful...
Start THINKING people.
You have a BRAIN. You were BORN WITH IT.
THINK.
KeenInsight nailed this one "Dead on"! Too bad more won't get it, until it is too late. Our country has gone to hell officially! Wake up people you are getting screwed and the right wing political terrorists DO NOT CARE!