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  • 28
    Sep
    2012
    11:14am, EDT

    Prosecutors: James Holmes threatened professor before theater shooting

    By NBC News staff and wire services

    Reuters

    Colorado shooting suspect James Eagan Holmes makes his first court appearance in Aurora, Colorado on July 23.

    The suspect in a deadly movie theater attack in Colorado threatened a professor before the shooting, leading the university to ban him from campus, prosecutors said in court documents released Friday.

    The name of the person James Eagan Holmes threatened has been blacked out. Prosecutors say the person reported the threats, and Holmes was denied access to campus "as a result of these actions."


    Follow @NBCNewsUS

    In other documents, defense attorneys say the prosecutor's allegations are false, based on university statements.


    The University of Colorado has said Holmes was denied access to non-public parts of the campus because he had withdrawn from school.

    Holmes, 24, faces 152 charges in the July 20 shooting at an Aurora movie theater during a midnight showing of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises." The attack killed 12 people and injured 58 others. After the shootings, police went to Holmes' apartment which was wired with a complex system of tripwires and explosive devices.

    Defense attorneys claim Holmes is mentally ill, raising the possibility that Holmes will plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

    In court, prosecutors have raised the prospect that Holmes was angry at the failure of a once promising academic career and stockpiled weapons, ammunition, tear gas grenades, and body armor as his research deteriorated and professors urged him to get into another profession.

    After weeks of secrecy surrounding the case, most of the documents filed in court were released to the public on Friday.

    In his order, Judge William Sylvester said that the release, with some restrictions, and considerable redaction, balances the public's First Amendment rights to see the court file, and attorneys' concerns. Prosecutors and defense attorneys had asked that court documents be sealed to preserve an ongoing investigation and protect Holmes' right to a fair trial.

    Sylvester ordered that some information in the documents released Friday have information blacked out to protect the identities of witnesses. Documents that won't be released include an arrest affidavit, which contains information about the investigation, as well as requests for search warrants and subpoenas.

    Many of the newly released documents unveil the legal struggle over the relationship between Holmes and a psychiatrist. The defense has argued that the relationship is privileged and that the evidence should not information that may have passed between the doctor about Holmes. Prosecutors have downplayed the formality of the relationship which they say ended well before the July 20 attack.

    See all available documents on the case

    The newly released documents, though heavily redacted, suggest that prosecutors believe the doctor had knowledge that Holmes posed a threat.

    "The statutes of the General Assembly, and those of Congress, and the Constitution of the United States, are designed to protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for everyone. They cannot be construed as to prevent [redacted]from sharing with appropriate individuals’ information necessary to secure the safety — or even the life — of the [redacted]. They cannot be construed to allow an individual to make threats against the safety of the community and at the same time, prohibit the recipient of such threats from acting on them. [Redacted portion.]“[W]hile the Constitution protects against invasions of individual rights, it is not a suicide pact."

    Previous court documents confirmed that Holmes sent a package to the University of Colorado psychiatrist, Lynne Fenton.

    The package contains a notebook that reportedly includes descriptions and drawings of an attack, but Fenton said she never saw the notebook, which was sitting in an unopened package in a university mail room when authorities obtained it.

    Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com

    The newly released documents also reveal that investigators have gleaned information from a witness described as a colleague of Holmes at the University of Colorado. The witness was interviewed by police, and also gave police access to text messages he received from Holmes.

    According to the document, which explained redaction of the records, forensics experts said they could not isolate the text messages from the rest of the content on the phone, so they downloaded all of it — 2,275 pages of personal contacts, photographs, and personal conversations with the witness's therapist — and then redacted all but a handful of text messages from Holmes.

    NBC News' Kari Huus and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    28 comments

    No kerrry-2732604: it is not because: ..oh..forgot for a second that the lawyers and the system have to make money from the taxpayer for trying this piece of garbage

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    Explore related topics: aurora, colorado-shooting, kari-huus, dark-knight-rises, james-holmes
  • 28
    Jul
    2012
    10:38pm, EDT

    Wounded mom of youngest Aurora victim suffers miscarriage, family says

    Courtesy the family via KUSA

    Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6, was the youngest victim of the rampage.

    By Gil Aegerter, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Updated at 5 p.m., Sunday ET: A woman who was shot in the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting rampage has suffered a miscarriage, her family said.

    Ashley Moser, the mother of the youngest victim killed in the shooting, was pregnant and was shot in the neck and stomach during the attack July 20. The family said the trauma that Moser sustained caused a miscarriage and that she underwent more surgery on Saturday morning. 

    Moser, 25, is being treated at Aurora Medical Center. 


    The family released the following statement:

    Ashley Moser is recovering from an additional surgery she had this morning. Tragically, the extreme trauma she sustained also caused a miscarriage.

    We want to send a special thank you to the courageous heroes of law enforcement, other first responders, paramedics, and doctors and nurses who have all gone beyond the call-of-duty in caring for our daughter, granddaughter and all of the other victims of this tragic event.

    Our sincere appreciation goes out to all of those who have been sending well-wishes, prayers and good thoughts to Ashley. Her lifetime of care will be a long road. For those who wish to donate, please go to any Wells Fargo Bank and request the "Donation Account for Ashley and Veronica Moser." This is the only official donation account for the family.

    Funeral arrangements for Moser's daughter, Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6, are still pending.


    Follow @NBCNewsUS

    Until recently, Moser and her daughter had lived with Moser's father -- Veronica's grandfather -- David Moser. But two months ago, David Moser, 65, died after a 10-month battle with leukemia.

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    Defense attorney Karen Steinhauser, a former prosecutor and current adjunct professor at the University of Denver, told The Associated Press that suspected gunman James Holmes, 24, will not face an additional charge as result of the miscarriage. She said charges in Colorado apply onto to those "who had been born and alive." 

    Holmes, a former doctoral student studying neuroscience, is accused of opening fire in the theater, killing Veronica and 11 others, and wounding 58. He is due to be formally charged Monday in Colorado. 

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    288 comments

    This poor family. After losing so much already, now this. Sincere condolences to all affected.

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  • 24
    Jul
    2012
    7:01pm, EDT

    Woman survives theater shooting, thanks to boyfriend's father

    Heidi Bergman Sodani, whose 22-year-old daughter Farrah was wounded in the Aurora shootings says her daughter is asking if "everyone else is ok?"

    By Marcus Harun
    NBC News

    Follow @nbcnightlynews

    A 22-year-old victim of the mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., will soon be released from the hospital, a recovery credited to the quick thinking of her boyfriend’s father. 

    Michael White Sr. had met his son’s girlfriend, Farrah Soudani, only one other time before they attended the midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises,” accompanied by White Sr.’s own girlfriend and his daughter.

    About 15 minutes into the movie, when a gunman began firing in the crowded theater, Soudani was hit. Her boyfriend, 33-year-old Michael White Jr., also was hit and unable to help her.

    White Sr., a 20-year U.S. Air Force veteran, sprang into action.


    “The guy just kept shooting … so then I heard a pause; I figured he was reloading, and I grabbed my daughter and my girlfriend and I grabbed them by the head and told them, ‘Escape, go this way, get out, stay low, go out this way,’” said White Sr., 55.

     

    But Soudani’s leg and abdomen were torn open by shrapnel. Her boyfriend, White Jr., had been shot in his torso and couldn’t move.

    “I saw the gunman start shooting again so I took off my shirt and I put the shirt onto her, holding her guts in,” White Sr. said.

    He tried to slow her severe bleeding while shots were still flying. He looked up and saw the gunman walk up the steps toward them and reload. White Sr. said that’s when he jumped onto Soudani, trying to block her from the next gunshots.

    In two remarkable stories of survival, one woman saves the life of her best friend, and a father protects his son's girlfriend after she was badly wounded. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    “If he was going to take out somebody, let him take out one person and I’ll save her,” White Sr. said. “Then her and my son can still have a life together hopefully.”

    But before the next gunshot was fired, suddenly, the lights came on and the alarm system sounded.

    The gunman, standing two rows in front of White Sr., turned around at the sound of the alarm and ceased fire.

    As most people were trying to escape, White Sr.’s girlfriend ran back into the the theater when she realized the whole family didn’t make it out.  She said she held Soudani’s head in her lap and said, “You can’t go to sleep. Don’t go to sleep. Look at me.”

    They all survived.

    Soudani had emergency surgery within hours, and her kidney and spleen were removed. Her stomach, left knee and diaphragm were all seriously injured, and she now faces up to three more surgeries, doctors said.

    The human body only holds about nine units of blood, doctors told them, and Soudani had already been given at least 40 units.

    White Jr. had surgery after a bullet cracked his rib, and he has now been discharged from the hospital.

    ‘I’m in debt to him for the rest of my life’ 
    Soudani has been in and out of consciousness but still maintains her sense of humor and also her caring nature, Soudani’s mother, Heidi Bergman Soudani, told NBC News.

    “I am so grateful I have my daughter; a lot of other people don’t have their kids or their loved ones because of what happened,” she said. “She is a very strong person. She is feisty and she is not giving up.”

    While lying in her hospital bed, Soudani has asked repeatedly if everyone else is OK, Bergman Soudani said.

    Both of Farrah Soudani’s parents are very thankful for the White family’s heroic acts that saved their daughter’s life.

    “I am in debt to him for the rest of my life,” said her father, Sam Soudani. “I really can’t describe it in words. I came up and hugged him and I gave him a kiss.”

    White Jr. and Soudani have been in a relationship only for a few months, and the shooting has brought them — and their families — even closer together.

    “The first time I met her she was somebody that you couldn’t get upset with,” White Sr. said of Farrah Soudani. “She was respectful to me when we first met. It’s just something I knew that if she went out with my son she would make him very happy and I know he would make her very happy.”

    Despite all his efforts, White Sr. says he is not a hero, he’s “just Mike.”

    “My son was a hero because he was trying to get up and save her but he couldn’t move because he was shot, so he was trying to crawl over,” White said. “There are other people that are heroes.”

     

    114 comments

    My mom, Michelle Reese, is Mike (Sr.)'s girlfriend. I am so proud of her.

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  • 22
    Jul
    2012
    1:30pm, EDT

    Colorado mourns victims of 'diabolical' movie theater gunman; Obama meets with victims' families

    Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

    A woman stands during a morning Mass remembering the victims of the movie theater shootings, at the Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Aurora, Colo., on Sunday.

    By Miranda Leitsinger and James Eng, NBC News

    Updated at 9:21 p.m. ET: In community churches, at impromptu memorials and at a public vigil, residents of Aurora, Colo., gathered Sunday to mourn the victims of a movie theater mass-shooting that the governor said was the work of a “diabolical, demonic” individual.


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    As worshipers pondered how the massacre could have happened, investigators said they don’t know what prompted a gunman police identified as a graduate-school dropout to open fire during a packed midnight premiere of the latest “Batman” film, “The Dark Knight Rises.” The massacre left 12 people dead and 58 injured.

    President Barack Obama arrived in Colorado late Sunday afternoon to meet privately with families of the victims and with state and local officials. It is Obama's second trip in less than a month to comfort Colorado residents. In late June he visited Colorado Springs, where hundreds of homes were destroyed in the most devastating wildfire in the state's history.


    Speaking from the University of Colorado Hospital, where many of the victims arrived by ambulance, Obama delivered a 10-minute address with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and the Congressional delegation at his side. The president quoted Scripture and shared the story of best friends Allie Young, 19, and Stephanie Davies, 21.

    After meeting with grieving families of a massacre that left 12 people dead, dozens injured in a movie theater, President Obama says that the entire nation prays for them.

    “When the gunman threw the canisters, he threw them only a few feet from Allie and Stephanie sitting there and watching the film,” Obama said. “Allie stood up seeing that she might need to do something – or at least warn other people -- she was immediately shot.”

    A vein in her neck had been punctured, the president continued, and blood spurted from the wound. As Allie dropped to the ground, Stephanie pulled her into the aisle and placed her fingers over her friend’s wound, applying pressure as the gunman continued shooting.  

    Allie told Stephanie to run, but she refused and instead called 911 with her free hand.

    “Once the SWAT team arrived, Stephanie, with the help of several others, carries Allie across two parking lots where the ambulance was waiting,” Obama said. “Because of Stephanie’s timely reactions, she is going to be fine.”

    @PeterBurnsRadio on behalf of @J

    President Barack Obama met Sunday with the family of shooting victim Jessica Ghawi in Aurora, Colo.

    Elsewhere, the message from Aurora was clear: On the online homepage of the Aurora Sentinel, the hometown paper, a headline blared: "Welcome back to Aurora, Mr. President. We’re hurting, and we need your help. The whole country does."

    A public vigil was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in front of Aurora City Hall, organized by civic, community and religious leaders.

    At New Life Community Church in Aurora, Pastor Jeff Noble said he didn’t have an answer to why God would allow such an attack to happen, though he offered some spiritual guidance to his congregation.

    “It’s not only OK but it’s good to express your honest feelings to God and to others about how you’re feeling … about this situation,” Noble said.

    "The reality is as a pastor, I make the comment, you know, to some degree the wounds heal but there's always a scar and there’s always a hole, something that’s missing in their lives,” he added.

    On a day of prayer and reflection, Aurora, Colo. comes together after being torn apart by the shooting rampage early Friday morning. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    "Our culture needs to change,'' Fr. Mauricio Bermudez told a packed Mass at the Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Aurora, Reuters reported. "What kind of people are we becoming? Today, we must change. Today is the day.''

    At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI said he was “deeply shocked” by the “senseless violence” in the Colorado movie theater shootings. In his traditional Sunday blessing, Benedict said he shared the distress of the families and friends of the victims. He said he was praying for all “as a pledge of consolation and strength” for God.

    Slideshow: Shooting at Batman screening in Aurora, Colo.

    Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

    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

    The suspect, identified as James Eagan Holmes, was reportedly jailed in solitary confinement, awaiting his first court appearance on Monday. Police have said Holmes planned the massacre with "calculation and deliberation," arming himself with ammunition delivered to his home and school over a period of months.

    Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said “there is absolutely no question that this guy acted alone.”

    He said Sunday that Holmes has "lawyered up" and is not talking to investigators.

    Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, speaking on NBC’s "Meet the Press" on Sunday, said the motive for the shooting remains a mystery. He described Holmes as "a twisted, really delusional individual" who had not been cooperating with authorities.

    "He was diabolical, demonic," Hickenlooper said.

    John Hickenlooper visits Meet the Press to update NBC's David Gregory on the most recent information from the tragic shootings in Aurora, Colo.

    Holmes had recently withdrawn from a competitive graduate program in neuroscience at the University of Colorado Denver, where he was one of six students at the school to get National Institutes of Health grant money.

    The university said it's investigating whether Holmes used his position as a graduate student to order materials in the potentially deadly booby traps that police said they found in his apartment.

    Twenty-four shooting victims remained hospitalized on Sunday at area hospitals, nine in critical condition. They included Ashley Moser, whose 6-year-old daughter, Veronica Moser Sullivan, was among those killed. Ashley Moser, who was shot in the back, was told of her daughter’s death on Saturday by her mother, a chaplain and her doctor.

    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.

    Authorities said Holmes' apartment was rigged with jars of liquids, explosives and chemicals that were booby trapped to kill whoever entered it. Bomb technicians neutralized a makeshift explosive device and by late Saturday afternoon, all hazards had been removed from Holmes' apartment, police said.

    Police said Sunday they have finished collecting evidence from the apartment, but it's not known yet when the building's residents would be allowed to return home. "Security of the building is still being maintained because of chemical hazards from the suspect's apartment," Aurora police said in a statement.

    The theater where the shooting happened is expected to remain off-limits for up to a week as police continue to process evidence.

    Meanwhile, the owner of a Colorado gun range said Holmes applied to join the club a few weeks before the shooting but never became a member.

    Glenn Rotkovich, of the Lead Valley Range in Byers, said Holmes emailed an application to join on June 25. Rotkovich followed up by calling Holmes' apartment to invite him to a mandatory orientation the following week.

    As detectives pored over evidence from the home of Aurora shooting suspect James Holmes, it became clear how complicated the investigation might be. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.

    Rotkovich got Holmes' answering machine and said "it was bizarre -- guttural, freakish at best," The Associated Press reported.

    Rotkovich left two other messages but eventually told his staff to watch for Holmes at the July 1 orientation and not to accept him into the club, according to AP.

    A man who said he was the suspect’s uncle described his nephew as a “nerd” and “unassuming kid.” The uncle, also named James Holmes, lives in Carmel, Calif. He told KSBW-TV  he was “shocked and horrified” by the news. He said his nephew never acted out during his childhood and teen years.

    A standing-room-only crowd jammed the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Bevery Hills, Calif., on Saturday night for the official Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences screening of “The Dark Knight Rises." Academy President Tom Sherak asked for a moment of silence for the victims, deadline.com reported.

    NBC's Kate Snow, Julmary Zambrano, Brian LePore, Isolde Raftery and The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.

    Related content from NBCNews.com:

    • Shooting victim learns daughter was killed
    • Victims who died include girl, sailor, aspiring sportscaster
    • Police: Trip wire, bomb disarmed at suspect's apartment
    • Photos of James Holmes, camp counselor for underprivileged kids
    • Shooting survivor: Boyfriend 'took a bullet for me'

    1200 comments

    Holmes did this for the same reason that all mass killers do their mayhem.....to gain notoriety. And the media morons once again play right into the nutcase's hand with their frantic, repetitive 24/7 coverage. Holmes is a monster, and the media are idiots!

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  • 21
    Jul
    2012
    11:09pm, EDT

    Video: Colorado shooting raises new questions about gun laws

    News that suspected gunman James Eagan Holmes purchased guns and ammo legally is raising questions about America's gun laws. NBC's Pete Williams reports.

    50 comments

    If more people were armed in that theater he would have taken return fire and likely fled the scene. Or better yet would have been gunned down and less innocent people would have been. Gun laws have nothing to do with this. That fact that most people don't carry personal protection is what allowed t …

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  • 21
    Jul
    2012
    9:22pm, EDT

    President Obama plans visit with victims of Colorado shooting

    By NBC News and wire services

    President Barack Obama will travel to Aurora, Colo., on Sunday to see victims of the movie theater shooting and families of victims, White House officials said.

    Obama will not attend a vigil planned there for Sunday but will continue on to San Francisco, the officials said. He also will meet with local officials in Aurora.

    In his weekly radio address, Obama called for prayer and reflection on the shooting rampage in Aurora, Colo., which claimed 12 lives. He urged Americans to embrace the families who lost loved ones in Aurora and to "let them know we will be there for them as a nation."

    Twelve people were killed and 58 injured when a gunman opened fire early Friday at a midnight showing of "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises." James Eagan Holmes was arrested after the shooting and is being held in solitary confinement.

    At a planned campaign event in Fort Myers, Fla. President Barack Obama steers away from politics and leads the nation in a moment of silence for the victims of the mass shooting in Colorado.

    1814 comments

    God bless our President as he tries to bring some solace to the surviving victims and the families of the deceased ones.

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  • 21
    Jul
    2012
    7:16pm, EDT

    'Just too close to home': Aurora residents mourn shooting victims

    Marc Piscotty for NBC News

    Eric and Sophia Gettys of Aurora, Colo. help their children Gabriel, 4, and Gabriela, 6, with 12 heart-shaped balloons that they placed at a makeshift memorial near the Century 16 Movie Theaters at the Aurora Town Center on Saturday. The family had planned to go to a movie at another theater to get their minds off the tragedy but found it closed because one of the shooting victims had worked there so they saw it as a sign to visit the memorial and leave one balloon for each victim.

    By Miranda Leitsinger, Staff Writer, NBC News

    AURORA, Colo. -- Twelve candles, a birthday card and flowers placed in popcorn boxes.

    Follow @mimileitsinger

    Mourners created a makeshift memorial Saturday across the street from a movie theater where 12 people were killed and dozens injured in an attack, with some shedding tears and sharing embraces as they grappled to understand the deadly assault on their community.

    A birthday card with a photo of victim Alex Sullivan stood amid the stuffed animals and balloons. “Gone not forgotten,” read one poster. A group held hands in a circle and said a prayer, and a girl placed 12 red heart-shaped balloons at the empty lot.


    Slideshow: Shooting at Batman screening in Aurora, Colo.

    Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

    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

    “Our heart goes out to everybody. We grew up in the community here and it’s in our backyard. It’s just too close to home,” Shawn Quintana, 40, whose sister lit 12 white candles for the victims, told NBC News.

    The memorial appeared a day after James Holmes allegedly attacked the theater after Friday midnight with four weapons and tear gas, killing 12 people and leaving 58 injured.

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    Some motorists honked their horns at the well-wishers as they passed by along the large roadway across from the theater.

    Communities gathered this weekend to remember those lost and those still fighting for their lives as a result of the tragic shooting in Colorado. NBC's Kate Snow reports.

    Terry Jackson, 50, his wife, Donna, 58, and their 20-year-old son brought a bouquet of yellow and white flowers to pay their respects. Terry said he felt “very angry” about what had happened.

    After a day of dismantling suspected Colorado gunman James Holmes' booby-trapped apartment, federal law enforcement officials are a step closer in their investigation. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.

    “I’d like to say that I felt peace in my life but I don’t,” he said, elaborating that he was “just angry that somebody could come in and be this evil and cause this much devastation.”

    Watch the Top Videos on NBCNews.com

    “How could life be so bad for him that he destroy(ed) everybody else’s life?” he added.

    “It’s hard to find words for something you can’t understand, for me,” Donna said.


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    Gary Ford, 24, said the outpouring of well-wishers was helping him cope with the loss of his friend and mentor, Sullivan, whom he last saw a month ago.

    “Strangers who’ve never met each other ever in life are now … coming out to pay our respects and it’s helping me keep my composure for my buddy with a lot of people being here,” he said. But “not being able to see him ever again is going to be kind of hard, it’s going to be really hard.”

    Bradshaw said she knew their community would change after the attack. “We just hope for the best,” she said.

    “It took the innocence of going to a movie away,” she added. “It would take a lot to get me to (go) back to a theater.”

    NBC's Miguel Almaguer has more on the victims of Friday's deadly Colorado movie theater shootings.

    Related content from NBCNews.com:

    • Victims who died include girl, sailor, aspiring sportscaster
    • Police: Trip wire, bomb disarmed at suspect's apartment
    • Photos of James Holmes, camp counselor for underprivileged kids
    • Shooting survivor: Boyfriend 'took a bullet for me'
    • 6-year-old girl confirmed to have been killed in Colorado shootings
    • Will Colorado shootings suspect James Eagan Holmes ever face trial?

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    338 comments

    Primenumbers, excellent, well thought and written post. Good arguements and facts provided. While I don't agree with your particular viewpoint, I give credit where credit is due. Personaly, I think part of this country's problem is that we care about how a court views the Constitution, versus the vi …

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  • 21
    Jul
    2012
    1:00am, EDT

    Displaced by possible boobytraps, Colorado suspect's neighbors can only wait

    Colorado shooting suspect James Eagan Holmes booby-trapped his apartment with wires and incendiary devices. Bomb experts are trying to figure out the best way to proceed so that they can search the apartment without triggering an explosion. NBC's Pete Williams reports.

    By Miranda Leitsinger, Staff Writer, NBC News

    AURORA, Colo. -- Neighbors of the man accused of firing into a packed movie theater outside Denver, killing 12 and injuring 58, carried bags and baskets filled with clothes, Bibles and toiletries after police briefly let them return home late Friday while they worked to determine if he booby-trapped his apartment.


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    Lavonne Bradshaw, 52, who has lived in the neighborhood for one year, carried her light brown ringneck dove “Bonzo” in a large cage. The bird was left behind when police officers evacuated her and her two daughters around 5 a.m.

    “The next thing I knew the whole SWAT team, everybody was out there,” she told NBC News. “We pretty much grabbed what we can and we went out.”


    Bradshaw said authorities told them they had to leave because there could be a possible incendiary device set up by the suspect, James Holmes, who lived across the street and who she had seen a few times.

    Aurora police said Holmes booby-trapped his apartment with an elaborate network of wire-connected bottles containing unknown liquids, perhaps intended to go off when authorities arrived to canvass his home.

    Holmes told police about the trap before they arrived, however, and investigators hadn't entered the apartment Friday night. They were analyzing gases and examining photographs of the scene to figure out how to deal with the materials and had decided to defer any action until Saturday at the earliest.

    Related content from NBCNews.com:

    • Man calling himself the Joker kills 12, wounds 59 at 'Dark Knight Rises' premiere
    • Families, friends anxiously await word of missing moviegoers
    • Waking up to sickenly familiar horror
    • Tragedy in Colorado: 'We've had our share
    • Suspect was buying guns, dropping out of neuroscience program

    It’s not clear when Bradshaw or her neighbors will be able to go back home. She was going to stay with her brother for the night, while other neighbors said they planned to rent motel rooms though a school was set up as a shelter.

    In the rush to leave her apartment, Bradshaw also left behind needles for her diabetes treatment. She carried that along with Bonzo’s food late Friday. Others toted toothbrushes and clothes. One man carried his uniform for his work in passenger services at the airport.

    “It’s unbelievable, and it’s just very sad,” Bradshaw said. “This community here, everyone knows each other, we know people that were at the theater … and my son was going to watch the movie but had a change of plans … of which I’m glad.”

    Several people gathered on a corner down the street from where Holmes lived said they wanted to move.

    “That man is crazy,” said Brenda Luna, a 26-year-old who works as a hotel supervisor and lived in the same building as Holmes. She said she was very frightened and would leave her place in a month.

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    Officers were stationed at New York theaters and elsewhere in the country where "The Dark Knight Rises" was playing. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.

    Sitting near her on the grass, Jesus Arteaga, 34, said he grabbed shoes, a set of clothes and a Bible when police let him into his apartment for a few minutes. His roommate, Leonardo Felix, who works in roofing, questioned if he could sleep well when they were allowed to return.

    “We have to move, we have to leave that place,” said Felix, 52, noting that he worried “maybe other people will come around here and do the same” as Holmes.

    Jimmy Davis, a 54-year-old airport worker, carried his uniform on a hanger and a toothbrush in his shirt pocket late Friday. He said he slept on a cot in a police training building where some evacuees were initially taken.

    He said he wouldn’t have any qualms returning home: “This is where I live.”

    Bradshaw also said she wouldn’t have a problem returning.

    “I’d just like to be home, of course … but, you know, I want to make sure it’s safe,” she said, as sirens wailed in the distance.

    Suspect James Eagan Holmes reportedly never said a word while allegedly shooting 71 people and killing 12 in a sold-out showing for Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises." Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said it was "the act of a very deranged mind." NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    Related content from NBCNews.com:

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    • Mass murderers often not mentally ill, but seeking revenge, experts say
    • Woman who died in rampage narrowly escaped being shot last month
    • Security at movie theaters comes into focus in wake of shootings
    • People with same name as suspect hounded on social media
    • Witnesses react online to 'Dark Knight' theater shooting

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    21 comments

    Wow. At least he told the cops about the devices. Probably saved a lot more lives that would have otherwise been lost. This story is so tragic.

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    Explore related topics: crime, aurora, colorado-shooting, dark-knight-rises
  • 20
    Jul
    2012
    10:49pm, EDT

    Colorado shooter used shotgun, assault-style rifle with 100-round drum magazine

    Aurora Colorado Police Chief Dan Oates provides an update on the investigation into Friday's deadly movie theater shootings.

    By NBC News staff

    The four weapons that authorities say were used in the massacre at a Colorado theater showing of the latest Batman movie included a popular semiautomatic rifle, a .223-caliber assault-style rifle with a 100-round drum magazine.


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    The suspect also had two .40-caliber Glock handguns and a 12-gauge Remington Model 870 pump shotgun.

    In the past 60 days, police said, Holmes bought more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition, at gun shops and over the Internet, including:

    • 3,000 rounds of .223-caliber ammunition for the rifle. It was described as an AR-15-type weapon built by Smith and Wesson.
    • 3,000 rounds of .40-caliber ammunition for the Glock handguns.
    • 300 rounds for the shotgun.

    AR-15 is a Colt trademark, but similar weapons are built by other manufacturers. It typically fires a .223-caliber round and can accommodate large ammunition clips. The rifle is the semiautomatic civilian version of the U.S. military’s M-16, which first came into wide use during the Vietnam War.

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    Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said a 100-round drum magazine was recovered at the shooting scene. He said that it could have been used to fire up to 60 shots in a minute. On Friday, 12 people were killed, and another 58 injured, all but a few by gunfire, he said.

    Officials told NBC News that all four were purchased legally, beginning in May, from two national chain stores: Gander Mountain Guns and Bass Pro Shops.

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    • Suspect was buying guns, dropping out of neuroscience program
    • Police: 'Sophisticated' booby-trap in suspect's apartment

    Bass Pro Shops released a statement saying that employees at a Denver store followed all laws when they sold two weapons to Holmes. "We want to offer our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families," said Larry Whiteley, manager of communications for the company. "This is an unspeakable tragedy, and we join with all Americans in offering our prayerful support. Based on the records we have reviewed, personnel in our Denver store correctly and fully followed all Federal requirements with respect to the sale of one shotgun and one handgun to the individual identified in this incident. Background checks, as required by Federal law, were properly conducted, and he was approved. Again, our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We also offer our support and appreciation to the law enforcement and emergency response professionals and all others who responded to give aid to these innocent victims."

    Several politicians and a coalition of gun-control groups called for new restraints on guns.

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    A statement by the coalition read in part: "Gun violence is preventable.  It is long past time for policymakers at all levels to act. Americans have a right to feel safe in their communities--in schools, restaurants, movie theaters, and all public places.  Using the cynical desires of the gun lobby and firearms industry as an excuse for inaction is shameful." 

    Suspect James Eagan Holmes reportedly never said a word while allegedly shooting 71 people and killing 12 in a sold-out showing for Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises." Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said it was "the act of a very deranged mind." NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., issued a statement saying: “Our hearts are filled with sadness for the 12 people killed and the dozens wounded in this senseless act. We have to face the reality that these types of tragedies will continue to occur unless we do something about our nation's lax gun laws."

    According to the Brady Campaign/Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Colorado ranks among states with weaker gun laws. On Brady’s 100-point scorecard, Colorado scored 15. The states with the lowest ranking, 0, were Alaska, Arizona and Utah. California had the highest score, 81. According to the Brady Center, the score is based on laws that can prevent gun violence, such as background checks on all guns sales, permit-to-purchase requirements, limiting handgun purchases to one a month, and retention of sales records.

    A spokesman for the National Rifle Association issued a short statement on the incident.

    “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and the community. NRA will not have any further comment until all the facts are known,” said Andrew Arulanandam, NRA director of public affairs.

    More related content from NBCNews.com:

    • Raw audio documents eerie first moments of Colo. theater shooting
    • Mass murderers often not mentally ill, but seeking revenge, experts say
    • Woman who died in rampage narrowly escaped being shot last month
    • Security at movie theaters comes into focus in wake of shootings
    • People with same name as suspect hounded on social media
    • Witnesses react online to 'Dark Knight' theater shooting

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    982 comments

    100 round magazine. Should be illegal. Not for hunting. Not needed for self defense.

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  • 20
    Jul
    2012
    9:13am, EDT

    Colorado shooting survivor: 'He pointed the gun right at me'

    Witnesses of Friday's deadly Colorado movie theater shootings describe what they saw.

    By Andrew Mach, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Survivors of the Colorado movie theater shooting massacre say they initially thought the man dressed in black who entered through an emergency exit door was part of the premier of the new Batman movie.


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    "I thought it was a joke or part of the show," survivor Jennifer Seeger told TODAY. "He came in and threw in the gas can, and then I knew it was real." 

    The gunman shot and killed 12 people and wounded dozens more at the movie theater in Aurora, Colo., about 20 minutes into the movie. A man identified as James Eagan Holmes has been arrested in the case. 

    Seeger, 22, said she was sitting in the second row of the theater, and the shooting suspect was about five feet away from her when he entered.

    Another survivor, Tanner Coon, 17, said he was at the showing with a friend and the friend’s 10-year-old brother, sitting in the fourth row from the back of the theater.

    “I saw a tear gas can fly over the audience,” he said. “There was a loud bang and I saw a flash, and I just thought maybe fireworks, you know, people do that kind of stuff at midnight premiers, but I heard more flashes and I instantly knew those were gunshots.”

    Another survivor, Corbin Dates, said he was inside the theater when the shooting started. He described the masked gunman, saying he first thought the shooting was “a stunt” for the movie.

    “I thought it was for a thrill,” he said, “but then people are really, really screaming.” 

    After the suspect threw the gas cans in the air, Seeger said, he fired a shot toward the ceiling. She described the ensuing 20 minutes as “pure mass chaos” as the suspect turned his guns on the audience. 

    “He pointed the gun right at me," Seeger said. "I got terrified. I didn’t know what to do like a deer in headlights. At that point, I dove into the aisle, and curled up into a little ball and waited for him to go away. I got lucky because he didn't shoot me."

    "But then he started to shoot people behind me, and the bullets started falling on my head," she said. "It was like burning my head because it was so fresh. I could smell gun powder." 

    At that point, Seeger said, she tried to think of an escape route. 

    "I was crawling, and I told my friend, I said, 'Once he gets up there, he goes up to the stairs, we’ve got to get out of here, we’ve got to get out of here,'" she said. "So we start crawling, we start crawling and everybody’s going for the door, and then everybody starts coming back in, they’re saying, ‘No, he’s going to shoot the people trying to get out of the door, and he did.'"

    A surviving victim of the shooting, Virginia Beach native Marcus Weaver, told NBC affiliate WAVY.com in Portsmouth, Va., that when shots finally stopped long enough to make a run for it, the theater became "frantic."

    Marcus Weaver holds up a bloodied shirt after he was injured during the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting, Friday, July 20, 2012.

    Profile of the shooting suspect
    12 shot dead at 'Dark Night Rises' screening

    "When I was jumping over the seats to get to the exit, there were people trampling over people who were lying on the ground," Weaver said from his hospital bed in Aurora, Colo. "It was just the most horrific scene I have ever seen."

    Weaver said he suffered two gunshot wounds to his right shoulder. He was treated on the scene and taken to the hospital. He was released Friday morning.

    Meanwhile, trapped inside the panicking theater, Seeger said, the gas began to take effect. 

    "I was coughing, my eyes were tearing up," she said. "I was just scared and my adrenaline pumped in and I tried to get out. It felt like forever.”

    "They said, 'This guy's coming back, he's going to shoot you, he's going to shoot you,'" she said. "So I just ran as an instinct."

    Seeger said she remembered seeing a number of children in the audience as she fled the theater, including a 6-year-old who was shot and killed on the scene.

    “I was trying to escape and there was a little girl, like 12 or 14, just laying lifeless on the stairs,” she said. “I didn’t know what to do. I was just completely distraught. There were dead bodies everywhere, there were people hurt everywhere, there was blood and guts everywhere.” 

     

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    265 comments

    I am glad they took him alive. Maybe doctors can identify his mental state and hopefully help avoid a repeat of this in the future. Am i asking too much? Most likely. OK put him to death after the interview.

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    Explore related topics: the-dark-knight, colorado-shooting, aurora-colorado, the-dark-knight-shooting

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