Colo. shooting suspect James Holmes' apartment booby trapped, police say

(CBS/AP) AURORA, Colo. - Police say the apartment of the suspect in a mass shooting at a Denver area movie theater is booby trapped, so they've evacuated five surrounding buildings.

Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates says bomb technicians are determining how to disarm flammable or explosive material in the third-floor apartment. He says police could be there some time.

Oates says pictures from inside the apartment are fairly disturbing and the devices look to be sophisticated.

Mass shooting at Batman screening in Aurora, Colo.

FBI agents and police used a hook and ladder fire truck and put a camera at the end of 12-foot pole inside the apartment where 24-year-old James Holmes lives.

James Holmes, age 24, is in custody after shooting during a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colo.

/ University of Colorado Denver

Colorado firefighters say they're monitoring the apartment building for gases in an effort to determine what chemicals Holmes might have used to booby trap the place, in case they go off.

Aurora Fire Chief Chris Henderson says "it's a pretty extensive booby trap" and investigators aren't sure what it's attached to. He says there are trip wires and three containers and they don't know what's inside.

Henderson says if there is a detonation that causes a fire, firefighters will fight it from the outside of the building.

The apartment is about four miles from the theater where at least 12 people were killed and 50 were wounded.

One federal official told CBS News that at this time Holmes appears to have been "under the radar." CBS News reports Holmes doesn't appear to have a criminal record in Colorado or in California's San Diego County, where he lived previously. Pentagon officials said there is no record of Holmes having served in any branch of the military.

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Shooting rampage in Colo. theater

The Associated Press reported that Holmes was a student at the University of Colorado's medical school but withdrew last month, according to the school.

The suspect barged into a crowded Denver-area theater during a midnight showing of the Batman movie, hurled a gas canister and then opened fire, killing 12 people and injuring at least 50 others in one of the deadliest mass shootings in recent U.S. history.

When the gas began to spread, some moviegoers thought it was a stunt that was part of the "The Dark Knight Rises," one of the most highly anticipated films of the summer. They saw a silhouette of a person in the smoke near the screen, first pointing a gun at the crowd and then shooting.

"There were bullet (casings) just falling on my head. They were burning my forehead," Jennifer Seeger said, adding that the gunman, dressed like a SWAT team member, fired steadily except when he stopped to reload.

"Every few seconds it was just: Boom, boom, boom," she said. "He would reload and shoot and anyone who would try to leave would just get killed."

Police recovered four guns at the theater - one shotgun, two pistols and what is believed to be an assault rifle, a law enforcement source told CBS News correspondent Bob Orr. Authorities also recovered a gas mask.

A law enforcement source said the suspect also had a bullet proof vest, ballistic helmet and military SWAT clothing. Authorities were testing unidentified explosives in his vehicle, though their exact nature is unclear.

The nature of the attack suggests it was well planned. The suspect's vehicle was parked at the rear of the complex, near the emergency exit where he was reported to have entered from.

Oates said there's no evidence of any other attackers. There was also no immediate word of any motive. Federal law enforcement officials are being briefed on the attack, but at this point, there is no indication it is terrorism-related, CBS News senior correspondent John Miller reports.

[emsampson]

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE IN THE THEATRE SHOOT HIM? DOESN'T ANYONE CARRY A GUN? I GUESS ONLY THE WEIRDOS GET TO DO THAT!

[jonnyooh]

Nobody in the theater had a weapon they could have brought this guy down with? How many were there? I don't see that mentioned in the story.

[twmat311]

Wasn't this a guy they say was "under the radar"? No record of any offenses, relocated from CA to CO, apparently a student of some note (grad in neuroscience), etc? Nothing apparent to raise a flag before the fact - unless you know he's busy booby-trapping his apartment.

[juststandinghereallalone]

It's the News Media that helps create these nut jobs in the first place. They exploit these shootings for ratings and give 24/7 coverage, sloshing through the blood of victims and sticking a camera in some family members face and asking them how they feel. They go over and over how the shooter did it just to let the next psycho know how to do it bigger and better next time. Shame on the News Media!

[Bojax39]

That's the honest truth.

[hypnotoad72]

Just a reminder about the media:

1. The press needs to earn money
2. The press does this by putting out articles for people to read
3. Advertisers pay for space the press offers
4. To maximize the profit potential, the press charges more money for articles more likely to be read/seen by many


To expand point 2:

Which article will more people be inclined to read - the one about death, destruction, or celebrity divorce (as if we have a chance to get with the newly single people) or the one about the little girl in a sun dress picking pansies all morning with a grin on her face?

To expand point 3:

Advertisers raise up the cost of their products in these ads to help compensate for the costs. If you don't like ads, write the company and demand they stop making the ads and then double-demand the cost-savings trickle down to the consumer (and we know that won't happen because their profit margins are more important than the readers/viewers/target markets...)

The press is not "liberal".

It's "capitalist".

As are the advertisers.

If people hate this system, then they should try to analyze with more clarity than a fifth grader instead of blindly calling it "liberal", unless they add "the media is only as liberal as the capitalist owners want it to appear to be".

Not that there's anything wrong with capitalism, but you've got to take the good with the bad...

[Big-Daddy-Kahuna]

No trial! Off with his head now!

[beetlejuice720]

@Fbear0143, Are your for real??? I legally carry a firearm concealed everywhere for bad people like this to protect me, my family, and people like you! If you are expecting the police to protect you from evil you are mistaken in a case such as this the police showed up way toooooo late. I strongly support them but they CAN NOT be everywhere to protect everyone! It takes alot of concideration to decide to use your 2nd Amendment RIGHT to protect yourself and people like you but to me it is the right thing to do.

[bradkt1]

You couldn't have done anything with this guy. He wore body armor!

[jmi3]

"there is no indication it is terrorism-related?"

Pardon me, but last I checked in with common sense, opening fire on innocent civilians in a crowded movie theater is terrorism. If it isn't, then what do you mean by terrorism?

[taylorsucram]

I feel for the people who were injured or killed but this NEEDS TO BE SAID. Almost all MASS MURDERS are done by "whites". I don't know what it is, but the Texas Tower Shooter, Columbine, the San Diego McDonald's Massacre, Timothy McVeigh ... you name a mass murder incident and you'll find a "white boy" at the center of it. With "blacks" it tends to be personal (and just as stupid), you know one-on-one, and nobody can shoot straight! Now I said that to say this ...

Republicans promote a heavily-armed society where everyone carries powerful automatic weapons in their day-to-day life. They support a massively-useless military--which they are willing to use regardless of cost or consequence. Their pro-gun, pro-military stance represents a paranoid world view which seems to transcend reasonable fears: I don't feel I need a Glock to go to go buy groceries or when going to work or to the movies. Taken together, the violent tendencies of Republicans transcend political belief and land in the zone of mental illness. Don't you think these types of attitudes filter down into the general population with the aforementioned effects? Let me put it to you this way. Does anyone remember Roy Rogers? He was "King" of the singing Cowboys back in the '50s. He was so popular that even as a black child me and my buddies would run around the neighborhood playing Cowboys and Indians with our toy guns ....

Here's the thing; Roy Rogers carried two six-shooters, had a dog named "Bullet" and a horse named "Trigger".

You tell me what's wrong with that picture?

[patd562]

Guns don't kill people...People kill people just fine with or with-out a gun.

[mlechman]

I doubt Roy Rogers has had the any worse effect as Grand Theft Auto, Dexter, or even Angry Birds has had. All of these revolve around an individual committing violence against someone or something else and it's looked upon as ok.

[JamesHahn13]

"Federal law enforcement officials are being briefed on the attack, but at this point, there is no indication it is terrorism-related."

How is this not a terrorist attack? "Terrorism" is such a distorted definition now.

[rustytj64]

They have to find out whether he's muslim or not...

[taylorsucram]

I feel for the people who were injured or killed but this NEEDS TO BE SAID. Almost all MASS MURDERS are done by "whites". I don't know what it is, but the Texas Tower Shooter, Columbine, the San Diego McDonald's Massacre, Timothy McVeigh ... you name a mass murder incident and you'll find a "white boy" at the center of it. With "blacks" it tends to be personal (and just as stupid), you know one-on-one, and nobody can shoot straight, that's how innocent kids get shot! Now I said that to say this ...

Republicans promote a heavily-armed society where everyone carries powerful automatic weapons in their day-to-day life. They support a massively-useless military--which they are willing to use regardless of cost or consequence. Their pro-gun, pro-military stance represents a paranoid world view which seems to transcend reasonable fears: I don't feel I need a Glock to go to go buy groceries or when going to work or to the movies. Taken together, the violent tendencies of Republicans transcend political belief and land in the zone of mental illness. Don't you think these types of attitudes filter down into the general population with the aforementioned effects? Let me put it to you this way. Does anyone remember Roy Rogers? He was "King" of the singing Cowboys back in the '50s. He was so popular that even as a black child me and my buddies would run around the neighborhood playing Cowboys and Indians with our toy guns ....

Here's the thing; Roy Rogers carried two six-shooters, had a dog named "Bullet" and a horse named "Trigger".

You tell me what's wrong with that picture?

[patd562]

Guns don't kill people...People kill people just fine with or with-out a gun.

[actionjack54]

How did Roy Rogers get involved in this tragedy? Or for that matter, Why is politics involved? A simple answer-Simple Minds.