Gunman ... James Holmes
A RAMPAGING masked gunman killed 12 people at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie, wounding 59 more including a three-month-old baby.
Police named the attacker as 24-year-old San Diego student James Holmes, thought to be a "lone wolf" but not on US terrorist watch lists.
The gunman had his hair "painted red" and announced himself as "the Joker" - one of Batman's comic book enemies - said cops.
The massacre at the screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, near Denver, Colorado is said to have erupted during a shooting scene in the film.
Police said the black-clad gunman wearing body armour, a protective helmet and gas mask entered the sold-out showing through a fire exit before letting off two gas canisters and mowing down terrified cinema-goers as they fled.
The suspect was arrested minutes later in the multiplex's car park. He had a rapid-firing assault rifle, a shotgun and two pistols with him.
Bomb squad officers later confirmed Holmes' nearby flat was "booby-trapped" with "very sophisticated" explosives and they evacuated the area; they also scoured the grounds of the cinema.
Holmes had been a PhD student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine for one year before dropping out last month.
Police released a written statement from Holmes’ family in California which said: “Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the families and friends of those involved.”
Dramatic mobile phone footage showed shocked families fleeing the carnage in tears. One man was soaked in blood as he was helped out by a police officer.
A stunned young fan — dressed in a Batman outfit — was seen leaving seconds later.
Survivors spoke of seeing a "silhouette" emerge from smoke at the front of rows of seats, before a person pointed a gun at the audience.
Eyewitness Jennifer Seeger said: “There were bullet (casings) just falling on my head. They were burning my forehead."
She said the gunman, dressed like a SWAT team member, fired steadily - then stopped to reload several times: “Every few seconds it was just Boom, Boom, Boom.
“He would reload and shoot and anyone who would try to leave would just get killed.”
New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the gunman resembled Batman’s arch-villain “The Joker” at the time of the shocking attack.
Another cinema-goer Jamie Marshall said she at first thought the noise was "firecrackers" going off as part of a prank, during a gun battle in the film.
She added there was also confusion about whether the shooting was in the cinema or in the lobby.
Salina Jordan, 19, said she saw one girl hit in the cheek and another aged about nine shot in the stomach.
She did not realise what was happening until someone started shouting: “They’re shooting out here” then she saw police dragging bodies out.
Benjamin Fernandez told the Denver Post paper he heard a series of explosions and people ran from the cinema as cops shouted “Get down”.
Police set up a command post to interview hundreds of possible witnesses.
Chief Dan Oates said: "At 12.30am a gunman entered the front of one of the theatres.
"We know the gunman opened fire. As of now we only know of one shooter and we have no evidence of any additional shooters involved."
Chief Oates confirmed said ten people died at the scene, two later in hospital: "This is a horrific event and our hearts go out to the families."
President Barack Obama, who was woken up at the White House with the grim news, said: "Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado.
"Federal and local law enforcement are still responding and my administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time."
He added: “As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family."
The Aurora cinema shooting happened less than 20 miles from where the Columbine High School massacre happened in 1999.
Twelve pupils and one teacher were murdered by black-clad students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who then committed suicide. The Denver massacre is the worst mass shooting in the U.S. since 32 were murdered on the Virginia Tech campus in 2007.
Culled from : thesun.co.uk
What words can be used to console the bereaved?
ReplyDeleteThe souls of the departed rest in peace.
I am still angry at the mad man and i hope no longer will come to defend him...he should be hanged immediately!
This incident is not good for this film rating.
I strongly doubt that the incident will affect the rating of the film in anyway.
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