12 killed in movie premiere of Batman Rises in Aurora, Colorado
Witnesses say he was masked and wore black clothes when he set off some sort of explosive and then opened fire in one of five theaters in the complex that was hosting a midnight showing of the movie, witnesses told reporters.
It was reported that he shot an infant at point blank range at the theatre...smh!
James Wilburn was sitting in the second row of theater 9 after midnight when an emergency door opened and a man entered, the Denver Post reports.
"He was dressed in black," Wilburn told the newspaper. "Wearing a flack jacket and a gas mask."
Holmes was carrying a shotgun and had a rifle strapped to his back, Wilburn said. The gunman then dropped a canister, causing a noxious gas to spew out. He raised the shotgun and repeatedly fired toward the back of the theater.
Wilburn and three friends dove to the floor, hiding behind seats in front of them. The gunman was only five or six feet away, he said.
Once the shotgun was empty, the gunman calmly dropped it to the floor, took the rifle and went on firing. Wilburn heard roughly 30 shots, the Denver Post reports.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Naya Thompson and her 22-year-old boyfriend Derrick Poage were running for their lives. Thompson said the gas spread and the gunman may have dropped two canisters.
"It was like a tear gas," Thompson told the newspaper. "I was coughing and choking and I couldn't breathe."
Benjamin Fernandez, 30, told the Denver Post he was watching the movie when he heard several explosions. He said that people ran from the theater and there were gunshots as police shouted 'get down!"
"They were just expecting everybody to get to their car and just get out. Everybody that was hurt – there was blood everywhere. It was crazy.”
Jaime Marshall told Fox News Channel she was in an adjacent theater when explosions rang out during a shooting scene in the blockbuster film.
“We thought someone was just pranking us in the movie,” she said. Then, a man ran in and told people to get out, she said. “He said, ‘Don’t walk through the lobby, someone’s shooting.’”
She said when the lights came on, she saw bullet holes that had come through from the adjacent theater where the shooting took place. “We saw a girl who had been shot in the leg, and people covered with blood,” she said
The theater was packed, and there were many children in attendance, according to witnesses.
It was the worst mass shooting in the U.S. since the 2007 shooting on the Virginia Tech campus.
Some moviegoers said they thought the attack was part of the show. Then they saw a silhouette of a person in the smoke at the front of the theater, pointing a gun at the crowd.
"I told my friend, `We've got to get out of here,' but then he shot people trying to go out the exits," Jennifer Seeger told NBC's "Today." She the shooter made his way up the aisle, shooting as he went, saying nothing.
The youngest victim reported was a 6-year-old being treated at Children's Hospital Colorado, where a total of six victims were taken. Their condition wasn't known.
When the suspect's Parents were contacted, his Mom said Yes she believes her son was capable of doing that. She said " Yes I am sure you have the right person". His parents both live in San Diego but his Dad is currently on his way to Colorado to help the Police.
Update:
The suspect who surrendered to the Police without a fight is refusing to cooperate with the Police. Police suspect his apartment is booby-trapped with explosives etc.
The six year old who was shot last night just died this morning. Her father confirmed this.
More Update: The suspect, James Holmes withdrew from University of Colorado Medical School last month, it's not confirmed yet, but they think he was studying Biology.
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