Law enforcement officials have identified the gunman responsible for killing at least 12 people and injuring 59, many of them children, at the ‘Dark Knight Rises’ premier in Colorado’s third largest city of Aurora, as 24-year-old James Holmes.
Within hours, over 250 law enforcement officers and over 100 FBI agents responded to the tragedy. James Holmes was arrested with a rifle, handgun and gasmask in his possession outside of the theater. Another 2 guns were found inside the building. At the time of his arrest, he told officers he was “the Joker”.
24-year-old James Holmes was a student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver until last month, according to spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery .
San Diego media outlets have reported Holmes attended high school at Westview in Carmel Valley. He was also reportedly pursuing a PhD in neuroscience at University of Colorado-Denver. He supposedly enrolled in the fall of 2011, but dropped out in June.
Witnesses reported seeing a tall, gun-wielding man clad in body armor and wearing a gas mask in the theatre. Aurora police chief Daniel Oates told reporters that Holmes entered the theatre dressed in tactical clothing, a tactical ballistic vest, a helmet and a gas mask.
The police chief added that the gunman had on him an Ar-15, a Remington shotgun and two 40-caliber Glocks.
