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Real-life horror struck moviegoers at the midnight showing of the new Batman movie when a masked man—dressed in riot gear creepily similar to that of a villain in the movie—opened fire, killing 12 and wounding 38.
The grotesque scene took place around 1230 a.m. when the masked gunman, now identified as 24-year-old James Holmes, walked into theater 9 at an Aurora, Colorado movieplex. Eye-witnesses are calling the massacre “methodical” as Holmes waited until two gas cans exploded before walking up and down the aisles and opening fire.
Holmes seemed not to care who he hit as he fired off shots. Many of those hit were children, and in one case an infant, who was later treated and released from a nearby hospital.
The gunman was apprehended in the parking lot of the theater with a gasmask, a knife, a rifle, and a handgun in his possession, and there was another gun in his car. Police say that he put up no resistance once approached.
Police are now carefully disarming Holmes’ apartment, as he mentioned that there might be explosives inside. Using a camera and a fire-truck ladder police and FBI agents were able to look inside the apartment where they found booby traps that look to be sophisticated. The apartment building and five surrounding buildings have all been evacuated while bomb technicians are determining how to disarm the explosives.
Holmes’ family in California released a statement confirming the identity of their son, and asking for some privacy to process all the information. Sources have said that Holmes was a med-student seeking his PhD at the University of Colorado in Denver.
Investigators are now interviewing close friends and family to get a better sense of Holmes’ background.
