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Subscribe to RSSWitnesses described the gruesome scene left behind, a tear gas-filled killing zone that left 12 dead. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.
Updated 7:45 p.m. ET: The scene inside Theater 9 was pure chaos and horror: bloodied victims crawling for the exits past motionless bodies, the smell of tear gas stinging the disbelieving eyes of police officers, cellphones ringing all around.
Just a few feet away, though, in the multiplex parking lot, James Holmes was the picture of calm, “just standing there” in a helmet, gas mask and body armor, staring off into the distance.
“He seemed very detached from it all,” Officer Jason Oviatt of the Aurora, Colo., Police Department testified Monday as a preliminary hearing got under way with graphic testimony about the July 20 carnage at a midnight screening of a Batman movie.
“Very, very relaxed.”
Oviatt was the first witness at a hearing that saw a veteran officer break down on the stand as he described finding the body of a 6-year-old girl – one of 12 people killed and 58 wounded in the ambush.
Victims’ relatives sat quietly in the courtroom as officers recalled how one wounded woman stopped breathing every time she was moved, another victim gasped for breath on the way to the hospital, a third kept asking if his wife would live.
One cop spoke of a sound that will probably haunt him forever: the slosh of blood in the back seat of the car he used to take six people from the Century 16 cinema to the hospital.
Through all the gut-wrenching testimony – which included the revelation that Holmes, 25, bought his ticket to the movie 12 days before the screening – the bearded massacre suspect did not react.
His demeanor was apparently not that different from the one Oviatt encountered in the parking lot last summer.
Oviatt was on the graveyard shift in the Denver suburb when the call about the shooting came in. He followed a trail of blood to the back of the building and found Holmes standing by a car in SWAT-type gear.
He thought he was a police officer, but as he got closer, realized he was wrong.
'Robot': Victims' families eye theater massacre suspect
At gunpoint, he ordered the suspect to put up his hands and get on the ground, where he handcuffed him. Holmes – dripping with sweat, his pupils wildly dilated, reeking of body odor – did not display “normal emotional responses” and did not resist, he said.
The officers asked him if he was alone and Holmes responded with a strange smile, “like a smirk,” Officer Justin Grizzle testified.
There was a rifle by the car, and when Oviatt searched Holmes, he found two ammunition magazines in his pocket and two knives. Holmes volunteered that his home had been booby-trapped with “improvised explosive devices,” Oviatt said.
Officer Aaron Blue helped Oviatt search Holmes, but after the suspect was secure, his attention was drawn to the theater, where another cop was pulling out a woman who had been shot in the head and the leg.
Court hearing focuses on Holmes' notebook
“Every time she moved, she stopped breathing,” Blue said.
The woman was Jessica Ghawi, 24, a blogger who had been tweeting about the movie, “The Dark Knight Rises,” not long before Holmes allegedly tossed tear-gas canisters into the theater and opened fire.
Blue and the other officer took her to University Hospital, where she died.
Grizzle went into the theater, where he heard people screaming and stepped over an assault rifle left on the blood-slicked floor. Alarms were going off and “The Dark Knight Rises” was still playing on the screen. All around him, he saw still bodies and “some gunshot victims that were just crawling to get out."
He made four trips to the hospital with victims.
“I didn’t want anyone else to die,” he said.
On his first drive, Ashley Moser, 25, shot in the head and abdomen, was in the back seat. Her boyfriend kept asking, “That’s my wife. Is my wife going to live?” and tried to jump out of the car to find Ashley’s 6-year-daughter. The pregnant mom survived but later miscarried and was paralyzed. Her daughter, Veronica, died.
On another trip, standup comic Caleb Medley was in the back seat. He’d been shot in the face and was making terrible noises. Each time he stopped breathing, the officer, using an expletive, ordered him not to die. Medley survived.
By the time Grizzle was done transporting the wounded, he noticed his patrol car was spattered with blood.
“I could hear blood sloshing in the back,” he said.
KUSA's Anastasiya Bolton and Blair Shiff contributed to this report.
Ted S. Warren / AP
Twelve people were killed and 58 were injured when a gunman opened fire in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater.
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Lanza....gun free school zone
Holmes....gun free movie house
US Goverment solution...assault weapon ban..close".gunshow loophole",large magazine ban...
why not put a chicken in a bag and spin it over their heads?
The NRA has offered the only concrete proposal that would address these shootings,and Pennsylvania is already putting cops in the schools,and legislation is in the works for guards and arming some qualified teachers,like Utah and maybe some other states.
Article isn't about gun control in case you didn't notice.
Yeah, but the discussion thread is.
You will of course voluntarily pay higher taxes to support the training for and purchasing of firearms as well, right?
Hang the evil murderer in front of the movie theater for all to see.
They would sell out.I'll bring the popcorn
If there is a "deal" this could be the closest thing to a trial???? WHAT DEAL - is the DA/legal system going to sell out the people again? How many times do the injured and dead have to be betrayed for us to say "NO DEAL" - the only dealing should be whether animals like this get the noose or a firing squad.
HEARING underway?!!!...The only thing we should be HEARING is him begging for his life as they put the noose around his neck!
You've got that right!
I really don't know what "answers" the families think they will get at these hearings? This is a crazy psycho who thought it might be "fun" to pretend he was the joker and kill innocent people. An answer? That is the answer! Now he is a "suspect" ha ha ha!
He is a murderer. Why worry about committing him to a mental institution? If someone is crazy enough to enjoy killing - he should face the death penalty. We are to keep this psycho alive because he is "crazier" than some other killers? I don't think so!
Preliminary hearing, my butt! They should fill the jury box with witnesses and ask them, "Is this the mass murderer?" In unison, they all say "YES!" The Judge......"Guilty as charged. You are to be hanged by the neck until dead, at sunrise tomorrow!" Court Adjourned!
Bub-bud-but - That would be JUSTICE! We can't have that in Amerika! What would our poor, starving lawyers do? How about all the psychiatrists - how would they earn their expert witness pay? And what about rehabilitating him so he can be free to roam the world and be the star on a new reality show next season?
AllPeopleRights #59 above has it right - all this "closure" business is insanity. I don't want to know what goes on in an insane murderer's mind - kind of like I don't want to go SCUBA diving in a cesspool just to find out that it stinks. Personally, I worry about someone who "WANTS" to understank that kind of thing.
To all of those people who say this would not have happened if he could not get a gun.
Would this have happened if this violence filled movie was not made? Nope. He was living out something he had seen in a movie. More Hollywood movies that make violence and weapons look glamorous.
This guy was already seeing a psychiatrist. Had that psychiatrist alerted the authorities that this guy was unstable? Did we add him to a nationwide database of people who should not have access to guns? I'm guessing no.
The gun was the weapon of choice for this particular psycho. How many people could he kill if he had waited outside the movie theater and ran over a large group of people with his car, and created a bomb and snuck that into the theater?
"This guy was already seeing a psychiatrist. Had that psychiatrist alerted the authorities that this guy was unstable?"
There are many people, (probably the majority) who see a psychiatrist and are stable and not a threat to society. Someone whom lost a relative, or maybe someone who has a fatal illness, or someone overweight, all of whom may see a psychiatrist are probably not a threat to society.
Psychiatrists are already required to report someone who is a threat to himself or others.
Go ahead, blame the movies. But realize it's a lot harder to kill 12 people in a matter of seconds with a stack of DVDs than with a semi-automatic rifle. If guns had not been so easily available to him (he purchased them all legally, mind you) those 12 people would probably be alive today.
Secondly, all we ever hear from pro-gun people is how we can't blame the guns. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. Don't blame the gun, blame the person who uses it. So then what do you guys do the first change you get? You defy your own logic and blame the movies instead of the person!
Let's wait and see how "relaxed" he is if he goes to the death chamber...
He'll be so relaxed he'll lose control of his bladder and bowels.
they will spend millions,only to house him for another 40-50 years spending more money.Best we can hope for is that Bubba loves the movies,batman,people,children etc.
He would probably welcome the death chamber and go down as a "martyr".
Most really mentally ill people wouldn't hurt a fly. These creeps, who try and plead "insanity" should be shot with the gun they used to kill innocent, defenseless people. Give me the gun. I will volunteer to put him out of his supposed misery!
After seeing the look on the jaggoffs face on the front page, I feel compelled to skin his face off with a rust potato peeler, then dunk his head in a vat of lemon juice. Never have I wanted hell to exist more than for these mass murdering lunatics.
Personally, I don't even want time spent on torturing him. Just kill him! Thin the herd of these psycho maniacs - don't waste time or money on them!
Why don't democrats think this killer is responsible for his actions?
They seemed to think Osama Bin Laden was responsible for his and they did not call for a ban on airplanes.
Strangely, they blame "guns" for causing murders. Post a link to ANY report of an unmanned "gun" killing anyone.
Unknown to most democrats, the gun is "operated" by a villain of some sort. Without a criminal attached, it is no more dangerous than a screwdriver.
A democrats inability to hold anyone accountable is sad and pathetic. It does explain why they think people "owe them" a living. Why they think," rich people" should pay their way thru life and why for some stupid reason they cannot between the bunch of them BALANCE A BUDGET.
They are idiots.
Democrats don't stop killers from being responsible for their actions. Our constitution makes us give everyone due process. Grow up and learn about your Constitution instead of stupidly blaming the democrats for that which you do not like. All you are doing is showing off your lack of education.
AllPeopleRights
The left still blame the gun first and the criminal second.
I am registered Democrat, moderate. I do not think the gun kills without a crazy nut pulling the trigger. Wind down! Always inappropriate to put all people in one category.
Your party dogma speaks for you. You claim to be moderate, but vote for radicals, you are a radical.
@allpeoplerights Tell us all about the Constitution,,,,,,,,,,,,,,perhaps the 2nd Amendment? Do you remember it?
You are worried to death about the rights of a killer and perfectly willing to sell my rights away cheaply. Why is that?
Why do you think, that as a gun owner I should give my rights away to protect your precious killer?
Probably on drugs or something
@ALLPEOPLESRIGHTS
yeah,right...this dude would not get 2 cents worth of ink if the killings were gangstas in Chitown
This is about gun control,even if YOU didn't notice.
I do not understand why "gun nuts" are so concerned about gun control. No one is taking guns away - just talking about your semi-automatic's with huge magazines. What do you need those for? Only for killing people - just like this scum-bag and the scum-bag who killed all the kids and people in Newtown. But, you all have to fight for those so you can kill 100 squirrels at a time when target shooting? Sick and stupid, all of it!
I thought you were for all people's rights?
Hypocrite blowhard.
I am for gun rights, stupid! I am not for semi-automatics with large magazines being in every home. That is what takes you from gun owner to gun nut! Understand the difference yet - slow coach?
Isn't that a right(large magazine),if the person does no harm?
You gonna judge everybody by Holmes?
Are all our rights contingent on what Lanza and Holmes do?
AllPeopleRights
The purpose of the 2nd amendment was not meant to protect hunters, target shooters or recreational shooters rights, It was meant to keep the citizens armed in the event that the government became tyrannical, so you can see why the present government wants gun control.
Right! If some craziness did occur and our government came after all of us - your stupid semi-automatics wouldn't help for long. Dream on, Rambo!
You're right, we should have fully automatic guns.
If the government came after us we should have most of the national guard, reserves and some regular forces on our side, due to the fact that their first oath is to protect the constitution from enemies both foreign and domestic.
Internet Rambo! LOL, LOL, LOL!
Ah, the dismissive and condescending retort to win the argument.
Seems there are two kinds of people - and it doesn't necessarily invove party affiliation. If the government were to come after us, there would be those who would resist and stand up for themselves and their country - the internet Rambos; and there would be those who would cower on their knees and respectfully ask "May I have another, please."
BTW: you should change your moniker to "AllPeopleRights - Of which I approve." In the interest of honesty and fairness, don'tcha know?
Why isnt our State run Media...ie NBC ..reporting how Holmes was on various drugs before the shooting including anti depressants and also was involved in university neurological tests?
All our controlled media wants to do is SPIN this tragic story into fuel for their Anti-Gun Agenda!!
ABSOLUTELY SHAMEFUL NBC!!!!!
Paul: The article was mostly about Holmes' mental state, and included a brief synopsis of the events inside and outside the theater. I didn't see any reference to gun control issues. They didn't include the stuff you thought was important, like drugs and neurological testing, that's true. Is that the "ABSOLUTELY SHAMEFUL" part? What I find interesting, if not shameful, is the notion that anyone who suggests looking at gun issues is "anti-gun", as if there's any serious plan afoot to ban guns outright. A simple world with no shades of grey might suit you, but the truth is seldom in that world.
Why do you think this issue is even in the news?It's just a preliminary hearing.
Newtown Aurora Newtown Aurora....got to keep the pot boiling.
Can't let the propaganda machine break down,before Feinstein and Joe Biden come up with some gun bans.
Could not agree more,Paul.
Oh man, I just love that archaic "anti-gun libbie" vs "pro gun nutjob" arguement that keeps spurring when anything related to Aurora or Newton comes up.
1. Does it make sense that an inanimate object somehow spurs or motivates one to carry out an action or is it their mental state?
2. If no gun available, but still hellbent on killing innocent people to fulfill some sick twisted desire, would these men have found a more effective way to kill those people?
3. Given that the 1994 AWB was in place, then "sunsetted" 10 years later because it was deemed ineffective, would another ban on AW yield the same result?
4. Has anyone looked into our entertainment culture and realized how many violent movies and video games involving guns and mass killing are out there?
5. If major media sources wanted to get high ratings for their news coverage of a tragedy, what is the best way to get people to watch?
6. With an administration that is mostly "progressive-democratic", is it remotely possible that they're using this tragedy and others like it to carry out an agenda to disarm Americans under the pretense that the 2nd amendment violates or infringes on the right to life and happiness because someone simply feels they're in some sort of danger due to someone who owns guns?
Answer these questions with common sense and see where you arrive at. Clear your mind first of all the psycho babble that comes from the mainstream media. I am betting you'll arrive at a logical set of answers that does not point to spurring some pile of legislative trash and waste of tax dollars to find a solution to the problem.
I currently believe that the people who flunked out or dropped out of college are working as politicians in DC right now and none of them have my vote...
This little monster wasn't "relaxed" enough. Lets help him relax permanently.
Fry this piece of trash!
The guy is obviously mentally ill. If he did not have easy access to guns this would not have happened! End of story. The logistics on building and planting and detonating a bomb are vastly more complicated than just picking up an assault weapon or two with high capacity magazines, throwing on some body armor and marching over to the theater. Remember Sandy Hook! Repeal the Second Amendment!
Why is it when i look at this Puke i just wanna flip the Switch and watch him COOK...
"Aurora massacre suspect James Holmes was “very relaxed” when police grabbed him outside the movie theater where 12 people had just been murdered and dozens more wounded, an officer testified Monday."
of course he was relaxed...he just finished blowing off some major steam
What a monster.
Send this terrorist to Guantanamo.
This young man is obviousely troubled and needs professionel help. More specifically, he needs the kind of help that comes from a professional assassin.
millions will be spent,lawyer's will get to hone their craft and in the end,the public will know little about what really happened.We pay for it but were excluded from seeing evidence.I say forget a trial,lets give the money to the victims,the children left alone,the parent minus a child etc.there are far better uses for all this money.Everybody makes money,except the victims.What a joke.
Those that want to murder could care less about any gun laws, they will get their guns and continue on the course of murder. So the solution is to disarm the good guys...you have got to be nuts. I own a gun and I feel much better than not having one. You break into my house you probably have the intent to do harm to me, but if I have a gun you just may leave in a body bag.
So, your point is to keep semi-automatics with large magazines available to all?
That way, any crazy nut can kill lots of people at one time! Great idea! Not!
NO,Internet hypocrite blowhard...put armed people in the schools and kill the SOB.
Like the NRA originally said,and before you said something about killing squirrels.