• Conspiracy theorist harassed Aurora shooting victims' families, cops say

    Portland Police Bureau

    Kevin Purfield, 45, of Portland, Oregon.

    By Teresa Carson, Reuters

    PORTLAND, Oregon - An Oregon man was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of harassing family members of some of the 12 people slain by a gunman who opened fire on moviegoers inside a Colorado theater last summer, police said.

    Kevin Michael Purfield, 45, of Oregon, is accused of contacting relatives of the Aurora, Colorado, victims through telephone calls, email and social media networks, police in Portland and Aurora said.

    Portland Police Bureau Sergeant Pete Simpson said he had little information about Purfield's background aside from the fact that law enforcement had previous contact with the suspect, including at least one "mental health call."

    Slideshow: Shooting at Batman screening in Aurora, Colo.

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    Twelve people were killed and 58 injured when a gunman opened fire during the premiere of a Batman movie.

    Launch slideshow

    A spokesman for the Aurora police, Frank Fania, said Purfield's contacts with victims' families numbered in the dozens, and started with the suspect offering unfounded conspiracies about the massacre.

    "In the beginning it was this conspiracy theory stuff," Fania said, "then it went away from the conspiracy theory into personally attacking the families, calling them names and hoping bad things would happen to them."

    A Facebook page and blog identified as belonging to Purfield stated, for example, that some coffins of the Aurora victims were empty. There were also discussions of the September 11, 2001, attacks on America and the December 2012 mass shooting that left 20 children and six adults slain at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

    The suspect in the Aurora shooting rampage, James Holmes, 25, is charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder, and prosecutors announced last week that they would seek the death penalty if he were convicted.

    The July 20 shooting spree, unleashed during a midnight showing of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises," also left 58 people wounded.

    New court documents released by a Colorado judge show that Aurora theater shooter James Holmes had threatened his psychiatrist and showed other troubling signs well before his shooting spree, raising questions about whether enough was done before he picked up a weapon.

    Aurora police contacted the Portland Police Bureau in February, seeking assistance in an investigation into the harassment reported by victims' families.

    Purfield was arrested without incident and booked on five misdemeanor charges of telephonic harassment and one count of stalking, police said.

    Prosecutors in the Holmes case recently raised the issue in connection with arguments over newly unsealed court records, citing "ongoing harassment" of victims and witnesses and "potential intimidation by individuals who have no relationship to the case."

    Victims' identities were made public in some case documents, and the names of the dead, their families and survivors of the shooting have appeared in numerous media accounts of the tragedy and its aftermath.

    Purfield was jailed in lieu of $10,000 bond and was slated to be arraigned in Multnomah County Court on April 11. The case would be tried in Portland. 

    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • 'Rot in hell, Holmes!': Anger after judge postpones Aurora suspect's arraignment

    Judge grants a request from James Holmes' defense team to postpone the arraignment of the suspected Aurora theater gunman until March 12. NBC's Leanne Gregg reports.

    By Mike Taibbi and Tracy Connor, NBC News

    Families of Aurora massacre victims erupted in anger Friday when a judge postponed the arraignment of suspect James Holmes — with one yelling out, "Rot in hell, Holmes!"

    At least four relatives or survivors stalked out when Holmes was granted two more months to decide how to plead to charges he murdered 12 people and wounded dozens during a shooting rampage at a Batman movie last summer.


    Others cried in the courtroom or cursed in the corridor outside.

    Steve Hernandez, father of murder victim Rebecca Wingo, vented his fury with the "rot in hell" outburst as the case was adjourned — and was gently admonished by the judge.

    "I am terribly sorry for your loss. I can only begin to imagine the emotions that are raging," Chief Judge William Sylvester said as he repeated the decorum order that barred any outburst. Hernandez apologized and promised not to disrupt future proceedings.

    It’s been almost six months since Holmes was arrested outside the Century 16 multiplex, and relatives are anxious for the case to move along.

    They were hopeful that might happen when Chief Judge William Sylvester ruled late Thursday that prosecutors have enough evidence to put Holmes, 25, on trial and scheduled the arraignment for Friday.

    But the defense said Holmes wasn't ready to enter a plea and convinced the court to postpone the arraignment until March 12 – over the objections of prosecutors, who said 84 victims or their loved ones opposed a delay.

    Sylvester said that with more than 30,000 pages of documents and 220 DVDs filed in the case, both sides need more time to prepare and that forcing Holmes to enter a plea now could create grounds for an appeal.

    /

    Steve Hernandez, right, father of slain Aurora victim Rebecca Wingo, arrives for a hearing for James Holmes. Hernandez later shouted, "Rot in hell, Holmes" and was admonished by the judge.

    The grad-school dropout's lawyers are widely expected to mount an insanity defense and made several pointed references to their client's mental health during a preliminary hearing this week.

    If Holmes enters a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, he will likely be transferred to a state psychiatric facility, where doctors must evaluate him and issue a report before a trial date is set, legal experts say.

    Scott Robinson, a Colorado defense lawyer who closely follows the case, said Holmes’ team could use the two-month delay to have their own mental-health experts evaluate him and help them prepare for the court-ordered exams.

    Ed Andrieski / AP

    Spectators arrive for a court proceeding for Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes on Friday. The judge granted a defense motion to delay the arraignment of Holmes until March 12, provoking anger from victims' relatives.

    Many in the victims' camp are adamant in their belief that Holmes is not legally insane. They were particularly struck by new evidence at the hearing that suggested his planning may have begun two months before the July 20 slaughter.

    Prosecutors revealed how he amassed an arsenal of weapons, booby-trapped his apartment and took photos of the Century 21 theater well before the ambush.

    "He’s not insane. He's evil and there’s a difference," said Theresa Hoover, whose 18-year-old son, A.J. Boik, was killed.

    Once Holmes enters a plea, the clock starts running on prosecutors, who have 63 days to decide whether they will seek the death penalty – which would drag out the case even longer.

    Sam Soudani, whose 23-year-old daughter was gravely wounded at the theater, said he’s willing to wait if it means Holmes winds up on death row.

    “The law has to take its course, and unfortunately, it will take a long time,” Soudani said. “I hate to say it, but he has his rights.”

     

    Related stories:

    Aurora massacre families brace for raw emotions of trial
    'Help me!': 911 call reveals teen's desperation after relatives shot in Aurora theater


     

     

  • Aurora massacre families brace for raw emotions of trial

    Barry Guiterrez / for NBC News

    Amee Gharbi holds her son, Yousef Gharbi, who was shot during the Aurora, Colo., theater massacre last fall. Doctors told him the the bullet fragment that entered his brain will likely stay there for the rest of his life.

    By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News
    Sitting in a preliminary hearing this week, Amee Gharbi was not prepared for the sound of 33 rapid-fire gunshots on a snippet of 911 tape from the Aurora movie-theater massacre.

    She glanced over at her 16-year-old son Yousef, who got a bullet to the brain during the July 20 bloodbath, and "his eyes were as wide as mine."

    Gharbi knows she will likely hear more of the same -- and worse -- after a judge found probable cause for first-degree murder charges against suspect James Holmes late Thursday, putting the case on track for trial.

    But she said she'll endure it in the hope that light will be shed on the big unanswered question looming over the tragedy: Why would someone shoot up a theater full of innocent Batman fans?

    "Holmes maybe will say something," she said hopefully.

    At the very least, she said, the public may get a look inside a notebook he mailed to a University of Colorado psychiatrist in which he reportedly detailed his plans. "Everybody wants to know what's in it," she said.

    The notebook can only be introduced as evidence if Holmes, 25, pleads not guilty by reason of insanity, removing the doctor-client privilege that is keeping it under wraps for now.
    The plea will come at Holmes' arraignment, which won't happen until March 12, the judge ruled Friday. If Holmes does enter an insanity plea, a trial date would not be set until his mental health exam is done, legal expert Scott Robinson said. 

    At any point, prosecutors and the defense could strike a deal, thereby avoiding a trial, but many of the Aurora families say they want Holmes judged by a jury, even if it compounds the anguish they felt at this week's hearing.

    Some are hungry for more information about Holmes' thinking and planning. Some seek emotional closure. Others know it’s the only road to capital punishment.

    "Through an entire first day of the hearing, not one person in that room had a dry eye -- except for that son of a b***," Sam Soudani said of Holmes. "As far as I'm concerned, if he wants to be a robot, he should be deactivated."

    'I just want to look him in the eye'
    Soudani's 23-year-old daughter, Farrah, survived the shooting but suffered major organ damage. They both attended the preliminary hearing, but Soudani said Farrah would probably skip any trial.

    "I don't think my daughter could look at him," he said.

    Two fathers of Aurora theater victims describe watching the accused gunman, James Holmes, in court. KUSA's Todd Walker reports.

    For Gharbi, face-time with Holmes is one reason she wants a trial instead of a plea deal.

    "I just want to look him in the eye," she said of the doctoral-program dropout, who stared impassively into the distance during this week's court proceedings.

    A trial isn't a necessity for Scott Larimer, who lost his 27-year-old son John and just wants to make sure that Holmes "never walks the streets again."

    Yet if there is one, he hopes it will reveal whether anyone -- particularly the University of Colorado -- knew what Holmes was capable of and failed to act.

    Larimer, who lives in Illinois, did not attend the preliminary hearing and said he wouldn't be able to handle the trial testimony.

    "When they start talking about finding my son lying on the floor, I'm not sure I'm up to sitting in court. And if there are pictures," he said, trailing off.

    Theresa Hoover, whose 18-year-old son, A.J. Boik, was among the 12 killed, went to the hearing, steeling herself for a raw reaction.

    "I knew my child's name would come up, but to actually hear it was a little surreal," she said.

    "During the 911 calls, A.J.'s fiancee [who survived] was with me, and it made her relive a little bit of what happened and that broke my heart. For me, I was like, 'OK, that's the moment when my son died.'"

    Still, Hoover is not sorry she went. She said that since July she has been "in a daze," not quite willing or able to grasp that her artistic, spirited young son is really gone.

    "Attending that hearing kind of helped me ... move past that," she said, adding that a trial would help her face the reality of her loss. "To hear all of this is almost healing."

    Some want a trial because they want the case to end with a lethal injection, not a prison cell. Prosecutors have 63 days from arraignment to announce whether they will seek the death penalty.

    Hoover said that while she doesn't think Holmes deserves to "walk this earth," she would rather see him locked up without parole, forced to "live with what he's done."

    "Put him in general population, though," she said. "With the other mean guys."

    Related stories:
    James Holmes 'detached,' 'relaxed' after theater massacre, officer says
    'Help me!': 911 call reveals teen's desperation after relatives shot in Aurora theater
    FBI: James Holmes' booby-trap used remote-control car, frying pan

  • Photos of Aurora suspect smiling with gun shown at hearing

    Bill Robles / Reuters

    A picture of shooting suspect James Holmes is shown in courtroom sketch from a preliminary hearing in Centennial, Colo., on Wednesday.

    By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

    The preliminary hearing in the Aurora massacre case closed Wednesday with an indelible image: suspect James Holmes smiling into the camera while gripping a semiautomatic handgun, just six hours before the rampage.


    The photo recovered from Holmes’ cellphone was one of dozen pictures prosecutors offered as evidence before they told a judge that the former grad student “didn't care who he killed.”

    The defense presented no witnesses at the hearing, and the judge will rule on Friday whether there is enough evidence to put Holmes on trial for the July 20 mass murder at a suburban Colorado multiplex.

    The prosecution’s last witness was an Aurora police detective who cataloged the photos, meant to show that Holmes painstakingly planned the ambush that killed 12 and wounded 58 during a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.’

    There were four photos of the inside and outside of the Century 16 theater, two taken as early as June 29. More arresting was a series of creepy self-portraits taken the evening of July 19 – Holmes’ hair dyed a shocking red and his eyes darkened by black contacts.

    The preliminary hearing for James Holmes, who is accused of killed 12 in the Aurora, Colo., theater massacre, ended Wednesday when Holmes' defense attorney chose to call no witnesses to testify about Holmes' mental state. The judge will issue a ruling by Friday as to whether or not a trial will begin, and there is already speculation that the case may end with a plea agreement. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.

    In one, he stuck out his tongue. In another, he held an explosive device and puckered his lips. A third showed him smiling, holding a semiautomatic pistol in front of the lens.

    Other pictures showed what prosecutors say were the tools his destruction: an assault rifle with a scope, a pump-action shotgun, a gas mask, helmet and body armor, all laid out on his bed. A few photos showcased the booby-traps that he allegedly set to explode in his home after the shooting.

    Prosecutors said the photos, along with testimony from a parade of law-enforcement officers, left no doubt that Holmes was the gunman or that he was hell-bent on maximum carnage in the “perfect venue.”

    “He didn't care who he killed or how many he killed, because he wanted to kill all of them," prosecutor Karen Pearson said

    Holmes’ lawyer, Daniel King, had the go-ahead to call two witnesses who would testify about his client’s mental state. But he decided not to put anyone on the stand, saying the hearing was not the right forum for a “truncated” defense.

    Scott Robinson, a Denver lawyer who is not involved in the case but has attended the proceedings, said it would be unusual for the defense to call witnesses during the preliminary hearing and show its hand to the other side.

    The defense doesn't call witnesses in the preliminary hearing of the accused Aurora theater gunman. NBC's Leanne Gregg reports.

    “They did the right thing,” Robinson said.

    Holmes, who is expected to mount an insanity defense, will return to court Friday. If the judge decides the case is going to trial, he will be arraigned on more than 160 counts of murder, attempted murder and weapons possession.

    Bill Robles / Reuters

    A picture of Colorado shooting suspect James Holmes, recovered from his cellphone, is shown in courtroom sketch from Thursday's preliminary hearing.

    Legal experts said it would be stunning if the judge did not find there was probable cause for the case to proceed.

    “In 31 years, I can think of one case where a court did not find probable cause,” former Denver prosecutor Karen Steinhauser said.

    She said that if Holmes pleads not guilty by reason of insanity, the judge will order mental health evaluations and a trial date will not be set right away.

    It’s possible that the defense and prosecution could strike a plea deal, in which case this week’s hearing will have been the closest thing to a trial. Much of the evidence is still under wraps because of a court-imposed gag order.

    The three-day hearing focused on accounts from officers who arrested Holmes outside the theater and tried to save the victims inside. The testimony was at times graphic and heart-breaking, leaving witnesses and spectators – many of them relatives of the killed and injured – in tears.

    Throughout, Holmes was impassive, sitting nearly motionless in a jail-issue jumpsuit, the dyed crimson mop he sported in the pre-slaughter photos replaced by messy brown hair and a beard.

    NBC News’ Kevin Watters, Denver’s KUSA and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

     

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  • 'Help me!': 911 call reveals teen's desperation after relatives shot in Aurora theater

    911 calls from the movie theater where a deadly shooting spree was under way were played in court, on the second day of hearings to decide if the alleged gunman should stand trial. NBC's Leanne Gregg reports.

    Courtesy the family via KUSA

    Veronica Moser-Sullivan, in an undated family photo.

    By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Weeping through closed eyes, Ian Sullivan listened Tuesday to a 911 call that detailed the death of his 6-year-old daughter, Veronica, in a Colorado movie theater.


    The 4-minute recording captured the voices of two people: a 911 dispatcher and a crying 13-year-old desperately trying to get help for her little cousin and for Veronica's gravely wounded mother, Ashley Moser.

    "Who's been shot?" the dispatcher asked.

    "My two cousins," the young caller said. "On the floor ... not breathing."

    The 911 operator told her she had to perform CPR, but it was too loud in Theater No. 9 -- the movie still playing, screams filling the air -- for her to follow the instructions.

    "Help me!" the girl shouted a few times.

    Ashley Moser, 25, shot in the stomach and neck, survived but suffered a miscarriage and was paralyzed. Her daughter could not be saved.

    Veronica was the youngest of the 12 people killed at the Century 16 theater when James Holmes allegedly opened fire during a midnight screening of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises." 

    The 911 call was played during a preliminary hearing in which prosecutors are laying out their case to convince a judge there's enough evidence to put Holmes on trial for first-degree murder.

    FBI: James Holmes' booby-trap used remote-control car, frying pan

    Victims relatives have been in the courtroom and overflow rooms, reacting with anguish at times during hours of emotional and sometimes graphic testimony.

    During Tuesday's proceedings, prosecutors played a second 911 call. It was barely half a minute long, but the sound of 33 gunshots could be heard.

    The caller, Kevin Quinonez, struggled to be heard but managed to convey some sense of the inexplicable horror unfolding around him: "There's some guy after us."

    NBC News’ Mike Taibbi and KUSA's Blair Shiff contributed to this report.

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  • FBI: James Holmes' booby-trap used remote-control car, frying pan

    There was more gruesome testimony as the pretrial hearing continued for James Holmes the lone gunman in the Aurora theater shooting that killed 12 and injured 58 others. And for the first time, in words attributed to Holmes, a detailed description of what he expected would happen when he left for the theater complex with four guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.

    By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Updated at 11:21 p.m. ET: After two days of presenting evidence against accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes, the prosecution prepared to interview a detective, its final witness, on Wednesday, according to the Denver Post. The defense may then set forth its case. 

    Among the more vivid accounts in Tuesday's testimony was the description of how Holmes booby-trapped his home, hoping to distract officers from the theater shooting. 

    Holmes used a thermos, frying pan, remote-control car and volatile chemicals to rig his apartment to blow up during the Aurora theater massacre, an FBI agent testified Tuesday.


    On the stand for a preliminary hearing, bomb technician Garret Gumbinner described the diabolical contraptions authorities found when they went to the grad-school dropout’s Colorado apartment.

    There was a trip-wire leading from the door to a thermos filled with glycerine that was perched over a frying pan filled with potassium permanganate, Gumbinner said.

    If they combined, there would be a spark that would set off a chain-reaction: fast-moving flames and a series of explosions as homemade devices scattered around the apartment ignited.

    Thomas Cooper / Getty Images file

    Police break the window of the apartment of of James Holmes, the suspect of in the Aurora, Colo., movie theater shooting on July 20.

    On top of the fridge was a remote-controlled “pyrotechnic” box filled with 6-inch fireworks shells. Holmes left the remote for it outside, in a trash bag with a toy car and a boom box on a timer, the agent said.

    His fantasy was that someone on the street would hear the music, open the bag, decide to play with the car, fiddle with the remote and detonate the explosives, Gumbinner said.

    In all, there were more than a dozen explosive devices in his apartment loaded with napalm, smokeless powder and live ammunition. Carpets were soaked with oil and gasoline to fuel any blast.

    His computer was set to play loud music at a designated time. He was hoping “someone would call the police and that the police would respond to his apartment,” Gumbinner said.

    "He said he rigged his apartment to explode or catch fire in order to divert police resources to his apartment,” Gumbinner said, recounting an interview with Holmes.

    No one played with the toy car or banged on the door, though. And when Holmes was arrested outside the Century 16 multiplex – after allegedly killing a dozen people and wounding 58 – he quickly told police about his traps.

    The scope of the bizarre setup was revealed during the second day of a hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to put the neuroscience scholar on trial for first-degree murder.

    A parade of law-enforcement officials took the stand to describe Holmes’ painstaking preparations and the horrific aftermath of the July 20 shooting at the Century 16 multiplex – but there was no mention of motive.

    The picture they presented was of a methodical killer who left nothing to chance and foreshadowed his own fate in a question posted to two online dating-service profiles: “Will you visit me in prison?”

    Courtesy the family via KUSA

    Veronica Moser-Sullivan, in an undated family photo.

    Holmes bought his ticket, through Fandango, 12 days before the opening of the Batman flick “The Dark Knight Rises,” police testified, though it emerged that he was supposed to see it in Theater No. 8, not No. 9 where the ambush took place.

    With so much evidence against their client, Holmes’ legal team is expected to mount an insanity defense, and his attorneys tried to highlight his state of mind at several points during the day’s testimony.

    They questioned Aurora Police Department Detective Craig Appel about why Holmes wasn’t tested for drugs or alcohol even though his pupils were hugely dilated and he acted strangely after his arrest.

    'Help me!': Teen's 911 call played at Holmes hearing

    Appel told the court that police had placed paper bags over Holmes’ hands to preserve gunpowder residue, and he pretended they were puppets. He also ripped a staple out of a table and tried to stick it in an electrical socket.

    Earlier, the defense asked an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms whether there is any legal process in Colorado to stop a “severely mentally ill” person from buying guns or ammunition.

    The agent had just ticked off the items Holmes legally purchased in the two months before the rampage, including two handguns, a shotgun, a rifle, more than 6,200 rounds of ammunition, body armor, chemicals, fireworks and practice targets.

    Holmes – wearing a beard and jail jumpsuit and looking disheveled – showed little reaction to any of the testimony.

    He simply stared straight ahead when prosecutors played a heart-breaking 911 tape of a 13-year-old girl pleading for help for her mortally wounded 6-year-old cousin, Veronica Moser-Sullivan.

    Veronica’s father, Ian Sullivan, wept with his eyes closed as he listened for four long minutes to the chaos that marked his daughter’s final moments.

    The day’s proceedings ended with Sgt. Matthew Fyles reading a grim catalog: the name of every person wounded and the nature of their injury.  When he got to Ashley Moser – who suffered a miscarriage, was paralyzed and lost her daughter, Veronica – he choked up.

    Wednesday is scheduled to start with the prosecution calling a detective as its final witness, according to the Denver Post. The defense could then call its own witnesses.  

    NBC News’ Mike Taibbi and KUSA contributed to this report.

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  • 'Like a robot': Victims' families eye suspect, enduring wrenching testimony in theater massacre hearing

    Courtesy of the Blunk family

    Aurora shooting victim, Jonathan Blunk, and his children, 2-year-old Maximus and 4-year-old Hailey. Blunk's cousin, Jessica Watts, attended Monday's hearing.

    By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

    As police officers fought back tears on the witness stand Monday, Sam Soudani was struck by how little James Holmes seemed to feel.

    "It's like a robot," said Soundani, whose daughter, Farrah, 23, was critically wounded in the July 20 massacre at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater. "Absolutely no emotion."


    Soudani was one of many victims' relatives and survivors who attended the first day of a weeklong hearing where prosecutors are laying out their case against Holmes to convince a judge there's enough evidence for a trial.

    He told NBC News that he came to the courthouse to support his daughter, who is still recovering from the wounds she suffered in the bloodbath -- which claimed 12 lives and left dozens injured.

    "I just wanted to hold her hand," he said.

    But Farrah decided she didn’t want to see Holmes “face to face” and stayed in an overflow room while her father wept as Sgt. Gerald Jonsgaard testified about futilely searching for the pulse of 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan.

    "Heartbreaking," Soudani said.

    James Holmes 'very relaxed' after theater massacre, officer says

    Holmes, 25, a former neuroscience doctoral student, displayed no discernible reaction during the moving testimony. And Soudani said the suspect didn't even deserve his hatred.

    “I don't feel anything toward him,” he said. “It's hard to explain. I mean, part of me wanted to rip his head off and part of me just couldn't care less for him."

    Jessica Watts, whose cousin Jonathan Blunk was killed in the shooting, also noted that Holmes seemed "disinterested" in the proceedings.

    Family members of Jonathan Blunk, one of the victims of Friday's mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., attend a prayer vigil, Sunday, July 22, 2012, in Aurora, Colo.

    Blunk, a military veteran and father of two, died shielding his date from the bullets. Watts said it was important for her to be at the hearing for "closure" and also to make sure the prosecution's case is strong.

    She said it was "horrifying" to hear the witnesses describe the scene in the theater when they arrived.

    "I can't imagine what these victims went through. Then again, I can't imagine what these first responders went through 'cause they're human beings, too," she said.

    "Mainly the emotions struck me, the emotions of the officers testifying," she said. "It's very, very hard to hear."

    Soudani said being in court was “agony” for him and he doesn’t think he can bear to return for any more testimony.

    NBC News' Jack Chesnutt contributed to this report.

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  • Youngest Aurora theater victim, 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan, to be laid to rest

    Courtesy of the family via KUSA

    Veronica Moser-Sullivan is seen in an undated family photo.

    By NBC News staff

    Flags flew at half-staff across Colorado on Tuesday as mourners gathered at a Denver church to pay tribute to the youngest victim of the Aurora theater massacre.

    Services for 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan were being held at the Church of the Risen Christ in Denver, followed by a private funeral for the family, according to local media reports.

    Veronica was one of 12 people killed in the July 20 shooting at an Aurora movie theater showing the latest Batman movie, “The Dark Knight Rises."



    Her mother, Ashley Moser, was among dozens of theater-goers wounded. She was shot several times and left paralyzed, and also miscarried a pregnancy as a result. She remains at a local rehabilitation center.

    Funeral plans for Veronica were delayed while Moser underwent rehab.

    James Holmes, 24, a former Ph.D. neuroscience student, is accused of being the theater shooter.

    Gov. John Hickenlooper ordered flags be lowered to half-staff on Tuesday in memory of Veronica.

    Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com

    Flags were lowered in the days after the shooting in memory of those killed in the theater and raised again July 29 after the last scheduled funeral. The governor announced at the time he would lower flags again when the funeral for Veronica was set.

    The family recently suffered another tragedy when someone stole a camera with the last photos taken of Veronica. The girl’s grandfather, Robert Sullivan, has said burglars broke into his west Denver home earlier this month and stole money, jewelry and cameras, including one with a memory card with photographs of his slain granddaughter.

    Mediator sets payment rules for Aurora shooting victims

    Nearly $5 million raised for the victims of the theater massacre will be distributed next month. The bulk of the money will go to the families of the 12 people who died and to those most gravely wounded.

    Separately, a website has been set up to accept donations for Ashley Moser.

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  • Mediator sets payment rules for Aurora shooting victims

    By NBC News staff and wire services

    DENVER -- The families of the 12 people killed and those who suffered permanent injuries in the July 20 shooting at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater will get the majority of the $5 million donated to help the victims, a governor-appointed mediator says.


    Kenneth Feinberg said Monday those two classes of victims will get 70 percent of the money, or about $200,000 each, based on current donations. The Aurora Victim Relief Fund currently has $4,961,739, according to a statement released by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper's office.

    The rest of the donations will go to people who suffered physical injuries, based on the number of days they were hospitalized. Feinberg identified the categories as "victims hospitalized for 20 days or more; victims hospitalized for between eight and 19 days; and victims hospitalized between one and seven days." Victims within each category will receive the same payment.

    There were 58 people wounded in the attack.

    Slideshow: Shooting at Batman screening in Aurora, Colo.

    Ted S. Warren / AP

    As many as 12 people were killed and 50 injured at a shooting at the Century 16 movie theatre in Aurora, Colo. early Friday during the showing of the latest Batman movie.

    Launch slideshow

    Feinberg said due to limited funds, victims who did not require overnight hospitalization and claims for mental trauma will not be compensated.

    Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com

    Former University of Colorado-Denver graduate student James E. Holmes is charged with carrying out the the attack during a showing of a Batman movie. 

    “We are extremely grateful to Ken Feinberg for his service to victims and their families and to the state of Colorado,” said Hickenlooper in a statement. “He has proven once again why he is the nation’s leading expert in handling these kinds of matters. Those most impacted by the theater shooting are best served by a speedy and fair distribution of the Aurora Victim Relief Fund and Ken is delivering as promised.”

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    Feinberg also said Monday was the last day for the public to donate through Community First Foundation's GivingFirst.Org website. Checks, however, will be accepted through Nov. 15, according to the statement.

    Feinberg oversaw the compensation fund for victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

    Hickenlooper recruited Feinberg in September to expedite the disbursement of the Colorado fund and curb turmoil that had grown over the donation process, The Denver Post reported.

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  • Lawyer explains why he brought gun to Batman showing

    A Connecticut attorney was arrested at a New Haven theater during a showing of "The Dark Knight Rises." WNBC's Marc Santia reports.

    By NBCConnecticut.com

    New Haven police apprehended a man who brought a loaded handgun into a movie theater during a showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, he said he brought the gun with him to feel safe.


    Sung Ho Hwang, a 46-year-old attorney from New Haven, was arrested and charged with breach of peace and interfering with police after it was discovered he brought a loaded hand gun into the theater.

    "I normally do not carry, but I live in downtown New Haven and the movie was getting out at 1 a.m., so I felt that I should protect myself since I was alone," Hwang, who has a valid permit to carry a gun, said during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

    For more, visit NBCConnecticut.com

    New Haven Police responded to Criterion-Bow Tie Cinemas at 86 Temple St. after receiving a call reporting a man with a gun inside theater one or two.

    According to police, an usher said at least three patrons inside the theater saw that Hwang had a holster with a gun in it and alerted theater staff, who then called police.

    Police entered Theater 1 and asked the patrons to raise their hands and file out of the theater. As they exited, they were patted down and escorted outside.

    The officers identified Hwang as the suspect, drew their weapons and ordered him to put his hands up.

    According to police, Hwang remained in his seat using his cell phone and did not comply with the officers' commands.

    Hwang said he was cooperative and followed all directions from police.

    Police acted well and were professional and understanding when they found that he had a valid permit to carry the weapon, he said.

    Police said they took Hwang into custody by force and officers were then able to remove the loaded handgun from his waistband at the small of his back, police said.

    Officer David B Hartman, media liaison for New Haven police, told the New Haven Independent that it was a "bad choice" for Hwang to bring the gun to the theater but that it was not illegal itself and the reason he was charged was for being uncooperative. 

    Hwang said he had the right to bring the gun.

    "There is no posting at Criterion that states that weapons are not permitted," Hwang said. "As far as the law is concerned, I have a right to carry here."

    Hwang is the president-elect of the New Haven Bar Association, concentrating on immigration law and civil litigation, according to his LinkedIn page.

    During his news conference, he brought up the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. 

    "I think that the Second Amendment is crucially important to protect. When baseless breach of peace and interfering charges are brought against people that have a right to carry, it really threatens our constitutional right to bear arms," Hwang said.

    Hwang does not think the patrons who alerted theater staff did anything wrong.

    "If they did suspect that someone had a weapon I would expect them to call the police. If I were in their situation, I would have done the same thing," he said.

    The real issue is that the city of New Haven is unsafe, he said.

    "Why do law-abiding citizens feel that they need to carry a weapon? Why does New Haven have a crime index of 2, which means that 98 percent of other cities are safer? Why is New Haven considered the murder capital of Connecticut? Those are the real issues here," Hwang said.

    After the mass shooting at the midnight showing of the "Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado, New Haven police increased patrols at the Criterion Cinema, which was the only New Haven theater showing the movie at the time.

    Nearly 20 New Haven police officers, two sergeants and the chief of police responded to theater On Tuesday. 

    Hwang said he understands that we are in a state of heightened security since the Colorado shooting.

    "I really feel for the victims and I pray for their family members," Hwang said.

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  • Twitter user threatens Aurora-style attack on Mike Tyson's show

    The New York Police Department is investigating threats made on Twitter against Mike Tyson's Broadway show. WNBC's Chris Glorioso reports.

    By NBCNewYork.com

    Updated at 5:13 p.m. ET: The NYPD subpoenaed Twitter Tuesday, forcing the social networking site to reveal the identity of the user who threatened to execute a "Batman"-style shooting rampage at a Broadway theater, police said.


    "This s---t ain't no joke yo -- I'm serious, people are gonna die like aurora," the person tweeted, referring to the July massacre at a Colorado movie theater where a man in tactical gear opened fire on movie-goers during a showing of "The Dark Knight Rises."

    Twelve people died in the Colorado shooting. Another 58 were wounded. Suspect James Holmes, 24, remains jailed on first-degree murder charges in that case.

    See the original report  |  More from NBCNewYork.com

    The Twitter user being eyed by the NYPD threatened to unleash similar carnage at the Longacre Theatre in midtown, where Mike Tyson is currently performing his one-man show "Undisputed Truth."

    Detectives asked Twitter to turn over the user's information when the NYPD first noticed the posts, but the social media site refused. In an e-mail, the site told police it did not appear the tweet in question fell within its parameters for invoking emergency-disclosure procedures.

    Michael Loccisano / Getty Images

    From left, director Spike Lee, Lakiha 'Kiki' Spicer and husband, Mike Tyson, during a curtain call for "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth" at the Longacre Theatre on Aug. 2, 2012, in New York.

    As a precaution, the NYPD dispatched officers to the theater. Chief NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said the NYPD would continue to secure the theater until the Twitter user who made the threat was found. Twitter has since complied with the subpoena, providing police with the information they requested.

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    "We take the threat seriously, especially in light of recent attacks in Wisconsin and Colorado," Browne said.

     The menacing tweets referring to New York began last week, when the user wrote about making a hit list and tweeted, "i wanna kill alot of people."

    On July 29, the user tweeted, "I might just shoot up this theater in new York I know they leave their exit doors unlocked. Ha now I gotta plan it step by step."

    On Aug. 2, the user responded to another user tweet about Tyson's show playing at the Longacre "right now" with the tweet, "Well ima shoot that theater up tonight just trust me."

    Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com

    On Aug. 3, responding to a tweet that mentioned not seeing anything on the news about the threat from the previous night, the user tweeted, "I had last minute plans. I'm in Florida rite now but it'll happen i promise I'm just finishing up my hit list."

     

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  • Report: Psychiatrist warned university about Aurora suspect weeks before massacre

    Suspect James Holmes, who seemed dazed and unengaged in court last week, on Monday appeared alert and attentive as a judge told him he faced 142 separate felony charges. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.

    By NBC News staff and wire reports

    DENVER, Colo. - A psychiatrist who treated the former graduate student accused of killing 12 people in a shooting rampage at a movie theater in Colorado warned her university about him more than a month before the massacre, a published report said on Wednesday.

    Dr Lynne Fenton notified a so-called threat-assessment team at the University of Colorado, Denver, in early June that she was alarmed by the behavior of James Eagan Holmes, but no further action was taken, the Denver Post reported, citing an anonymous source. 

    Holmes, 24, was charged on Monday with 24 counts of first-degree murder and 116 counts of attempted murder in the shooting at a midnight screening of the latest "Batman" movie in suburban Denver.

    Ill. governor wants ban on assault weapons

    Court papers filed by defense attorneys last week said Holmes, a former neuroscience student at the university's Anschutz Medical Campus, had been a patient of Fenton, who is medical director for student mental health services on campus.

    Among the 12 who died early Friday at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. were fathers, mothers, a little girl – even heroes. NBC's Kristen Dahlgren reports.

    A university spokeswoman, Jacque Montgomery, declined to comment on the Denver Post report, saying she was bound by a protective or "gag" order issued by the judge in the case and by student confidentiality laws.

    "I believe, until it's been demonstrated otherwise, that our people did what they should have done," University Chancellor Don Elliman said in a statement.

    Poll: Views on gun laws unchanged after Aurora massacre

    Slideshow: Shooting at Batman screening in Aurora, Colo.

    Ted S. Warren / AP

    As many as 12 people were killed and 50 injured at a shooting at the Century 16 movie theatre in Aurora, Colo. early Friday during the showing of the latest Batman movie.

    Launch slideshow


    Police and prosecutors, who have also been reluctant to comment on the case since the judge issued his gag order, could not be reached by Reuters for comment on Wednesday evening.

    The Denver Post reported that Fenton raised her concerns about Holmes with the university's Behavioral Evaluation and Threat Assessment team in early June. Denver's KMGH-TV, also citing unnamed sources, said school officials did not contact Aurora police before the shooting and that no action was taken because Holmes was in the process of dropping out of school.

    KMGH added: 

    Holmes lost his access to secure areas of the school June 12, according to the CU spokeswoman. ... Sources also say, after the shootings, Aurora police interviewed at least one person that Fenton contacted to discuss her concerns about Holmes.

    In Aurora massacre, trial may not shed much light on motive

    Montgomery described the threat assessment team as a resource consisting of representatives from various university offices that provides information to faculty, staff or students who are concerned about a member of the campus community.

    The Denver Post added: 

    Under a federal rule followed by psychiatrists, Fenton had a duty to take action if Holmes told her of a specific plan to harm others ... Holmes had sent a package with a notebook to Fenton before the attack, according to court papers made public last week.

    Police have not offered a motive for the shooting rampage that stunned Aurora and evoked memories of the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School less than 20 miles away. Experts say Holmes' mental state may be a key issue at trial.

    The first-degree murder charges mean that Holmes, a California native, is eligible to face the death penalty, but prosecutors have not yet said if they will seek it. He is next due in court on September 27. 

    Reuters contributed to this report.

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