James Eagan Holmes, 24, the Aurora shooter, moved from San Diego, California, to Colorado to pursue a neuroscience PhD. The student was enrolled in his program as recently as this past spring. His apartment was inhabited mainly by University of Colorado students. And now police have reported that his apartment is booby trapped, and it could take hours, perhaps days, to gain safe entry without detonating any bombs.
The senseless shooting claimed several lives, as Holmes wore a mask and slowly walked up the aisles of the theater, coldly shooting his victims, one of whom was a three-month-old baby.
Police have evacuated five buildings within the vicinity in case of an accidental detonation, and members of the bomb squad are busting out windows in surrounding apartments as firefighters are standing by making preparations.
More than 20 SWAT team members are carefully combing the suspect's home at this moment, looking for explosives and moving from building to building to make sure he didn't plant any outside of his home. The apartment building is directly across from an elementary school in a primarily Latino neighborhood. Residents in the surrounding area were advised by police to stay inside in case a bomb was detonated.
Police are tracing the AK-47 used in the attack in a quest to determine where Holmes could have gotten it. The Aurora shooter is described as a 'bright young man who had a bright future,' by television newsman Brian Ross. Originally, Ross said the gunman might be a member of the Tea Party, but that connection was debunked and he later corrected himself during a later report.
He started in the front of the theater with a shot gun, and then switched to high-powered weapons as he made his way up the aisle.
The big question is why he did it. Why would a man booby trap his apartment with sophisticated explosives, stock up on tear gas and military grade weapons, and kill random strangers in a movie theater? Were there warning signs in his behavior? Obviously, someone who does something has serious mental issues.
ABC News reported that as of 10:30am MST, three victims were released from the hospital in fair condition.
©2012 Reno Berkeley for Gather News.
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