James Holmes, 24, was identified by two federal law enforcement officers as the man who opened fire during a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" at an Aurora, Colorado, theater early Friday. At least 12 people were killed and 38 wounded, Police Chief Dan Oates said. 
Police break the apartment window of James Holmes, the suspect of a movie theatre shooting Friday in Aurora, Colorado. 
An ambulance is parked outside. Of the wounded, at least 20 were being treated at the University of Colorado Hospital, said spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery. "They're arriving by police, by ambulance. Some are walking in," she said. 
Agents search the suspect's car outside the theater. 
People grieve during a vigil for victims behind the theater where a gunman opened fire on moviegoers in Aurora on Friday. 
A woman grieves during a vigil for victims behind the theater. 
A distraught woman is counseled by Pastor Quincy Shannon, left, of the New Hope Fellowship and an unidentified advocate in front of Gateway High School in Aurora, Colorado, where the families of the missing are meeting following the shooting at the Century 16 movie theater. 
Lin Gan wipes away her tears as her mother, Juan Gan, guides her to their car after meeting with counselors at the Gateway High School in Aurora on Friday. 
Lin Gan, of Aurora, Colorado, holds back tears as she speaks to reporters about her experience in the Century 16 theater on Friday. 
People embrace before a vigil for victims behind the theater where a gunman opened fire on moviegoers in Aurora on Firday. 
The car belonging to the suspect is removed from behind the theater where the shooting took place on Friday. 
Investigators work on evidence near the apartment of of James Holmes on Friday. 
Memebers of the Aurora Police Department. SWAT walk near the apartment of James Holmes. Police have Holmes,24, of North Aurora in custody. 
Television news crews gather in front of the home of Robert and Arlene Holmes, parents of 24-year-old mass shooting suspect James Holmes, in San Diego, California. on Friday. 
A popcorn box lies on the ground outside the Century 16 movie theatre. 
An NYPD officer keeps watch inside an AMC move theater where the film "The Dark Knight Rises" is playing in Times Square on Friday. NYPD is maintaining security around city movie theaters following the deadly rampage in Aurora, Colorado. 
Police break a window of the apartment of Colorado shooting suspect James Holmes on Friday. 
Adariah Legarreta, 4, is comforted by her grandmother Rita Abeyta near the Century 16 Theater in Aurora. 
A cyclist and pedestrians pass a theater showing the latest Batman movie in Hollywood, California, on Friday. Warner Brothers said it was "deeply saddened" by Friday's massacre at a Colorado screening of "The Dark Knight Rises." 
Obama supporters observe a moment of silence for the victims at a campaign event at Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday. 
Jessica Ghawi, an aspiring sportscaster, was one of the victims. 
A woman waits for news outside Gateway High School, a few blocks from the scene of the shooting at the Century Aurora 16. 
Aurora police chief Daniel J. Oates speaks at a press conference near the Century 16 Theater on Friday. 
Agents search the trash container outside the suspect's apartment in Aurora. 
A Federal ATF officer carries protective gear onsite at the home of alleged shooting suspect James Holmes. 
Obama speaks on the shootings at the event in Fort Myers. 
Moviegoers are interviewed at the Century Aurora 16. 
Officers gathered at the theater Friday. 
Investigators were a common sight at the theater Friday. 
Authorities gather at the shooting suspect's apartment building in Aurora. Police broke a second-floor window to look for explosives that the suspect claimed were in the apartment. 
Screaming, panicked moviegoers scrambled to escape from the black-clad gunman, who wore a gas mask and randomly shot as he walked up the theater's steps, witnesses said. 
University of Colorado Hospital spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery said that all of the wounded had injuries from gunshot wounds, ranging from minor to critical. 
A woman sits on top of her car near the crime scene. 
Police block access to the Town Center mall after the shooting. 
Witnesses told KUSA that the gunman kicked in an emergency exit door and threw a smoke bomb into the darkened theater before opening fire. 
What is believed to be the suspect's car is examined after the shooting. 
Repubican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney delivers remarks regarding the shooting in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater on Friday at a campaign event in Bow, New Hampshire. 
- Alex Sullivan is killed on his 27th birthday
- Another victim, Jessica Ghawi, killed after escaping a deadly mass shooting in Toronto last month
- At least three service members are among the wounded, the Pentagon says
(CNN) -- Grief counselors will be available Saturday to help the bereaved in the Colorado shooting, hours after authorities started the dreadful task of notifying relatives of the victims of the movie theater massacre.
"It took about 19 hours to hear from law enforcement, which was agonizing and I thought just outright cruel to all the victims' families," said Anita Busch, who said her cousin, Micayla Medek, was among those killed. "We had been desperately trying to find her."
Families of the deceased had not been notified until Friday night because an active investigation was under way at the crime scene in Aurora, police said.
Alex Sullivan's relatives were also among those who got the dreaded news.
"The Sullivan family lost a cherished member of their family," a representative for the family said in a statement. "Alex was smart, funny, and above all loved dearly by his friends and family. Today was his 27th birthday. They respectfully ask that the media allow them time to grieve privately."
Colorado movie theater massacre 
Shooting witness: Killer was stoic 
Shooting witness thought attack was joke 
Movie victim: "He shot me a second time" While relatives endured a day of anguish Friday, racing between Denver-area hospitals and trying to learn the fate of their loved ones, some already knew the answer.
Aspiring sports reporter Jessica Ghawi was among those killed, her brother Jordan said on his blog, citing the coroner's office.
Ghawi, in her mid-20s, narrowly escaped another mass shooting in Toronto just last month -- an incident that prompted her to reflect on life on her blog.
"I can't get this odd feeling out of my chest," Ghawi wrote in a June 5 post. "This empty, almost sickening feeling won't go away. I noticed this feeling when I was in the Eaton Center in Toronto just seconds before someone opened fire in the food court. An odd feeling which led me to go outside and unknowingly out of harm's way. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around how a weird feeling saved me from being in the middle of a deadly shooting."
The Toronto shooting left one person dead and seven others injured.
"I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday. I saw the terror on bystanders' faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change," she wrote at the time. "I was reminded that we don't know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath."
Some families found relief at the end of an emotional roller coaster.
Patricia Legarreta, who went to the new Batman movie with her fiance, their 4-month-old baby and 4-year-old daughter, tearfully recalled what happened when the shooting took place.
Legarreta, who suffered leg wounds, said she grabbed her son and daughter and headed for the door. "There was a moment where my daughter tripped. I pulled her up and I was just dragging her and I was just thinking we've just got to get out."
Legarreta and her fiance, Jamie Rohrs, spoke about their ordeal on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight."
Video: Chaos at theater shooting scene 
Witness sees shots through theater wall 
Witness saw little girl who wasn't moving 
Witness: People bleeding in theater "I'm trying to get out of the way, but people are falling next to me," Rohrs said. Then he thought, "this is it."
In the chaos, the couple became separated. Rohrs eventually learned Legarreta and their children made it out of the theater.
At the hospital, the couple had an unexpected conversation.
"He had gone to the restroom and came out," Legarreta said of Rohrs. "And he just looked at me and he said, 'I know this is not the time and place, but will you marry me?' And I said, 'yes.' Going through 10 minutes of thinking he was dead and I would never see him again, you never want that feeling again."
The wounded were being treated at five medical centers: the University of Colorado Hospital; Denver Health Medical Center; Children's Hospital Colorado; Swedish Medical Center and Parker Adventist Hospital.
The youngest of the injured, a 4-month-old boy, was treated and released.
Some victims of the shooting said they cannot believe they survived the hail of gunfire.
Stephen Barton was shot in the neck and recovering in his hospital bed when he described the "cold and calculated" assault at the Century 16 movie theater.
"I actually thought more people would be dead," Barton told CNN affiliate KMGH.
U.S. troops were among the injured in the shooting rampage, the Pentagon said Friday.
The Defense Department released a statement saying one sailor was injured and another one, known to have been at the theater, was unaccounted for. Two airmen were wounded in the incident, it said.
And for residents of Aurora, a chaotic and harrowing day ended with a search for solace. The community lit candles and prayed Friday night to honor the victims of the rampage.
CNN's Carma Hassan, Holly Yan, David Ariosto, Phil Gast, Greg Morrison, Dave Alsup and Audrey Irvine contributed to this report.
0 comments:
Post a Comment