The Century 16 Theatre where a masked gunman killed 12 people at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado July 20, 2012. A masked gunman killed 14 people at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie in a suburb of Denver early on Friday, sparking pandemonium when he hurled a teargas canister into the auditorium and opened fire on moviegoers. EVAN SEMON/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive370105
UPDATE 2 PM ET: Police in Aurora have said that a total of 70 people were shot in the movie theater shooting early this morning. 12 people were killed and 58 were injured.
***
An armed gunman opened fire on late-night theatergoers in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and injuring some at least 38 other people. Police say the entered the Century 16 theater showing the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, around 12:30 am and threw a canister of tear gas before he began shooting. The ages of injured range from 3 months to 45 years old.
Witnesses say the movie theater was a scene of chaos as people tried to evacuate the theater. Many of those injured or killed were children.
Police arrested the man they believe to the be the shooter in the rear parking lot of the theater. Police have identified him as 24-year-old James Holmes. After he made a statement about explosives in his home, police also evacuated the area around his Aurora apartment building.
For a few surreal moments, before the shooter had opened fire, many witnesses thought the man at the front of the theater in full body armor and wearing a gas mask was some sort of special effect for the movie, especially since he came in during a shooting scene in the movie. The theaters at the Century 16 were full with those who had been anticipating the release of Christopher Nolan’s latest films. Later showings of the movie at that theater were cancelled, and Warner Bros announced that it had cancelled tonight’s Paris premiere of the movie.
Head back to Newscom to see pictures as they come in of the tragic shooting scene. Or you can check back at this post later as we update it with some of the latest pictures.
James Holmes, 24, is seen in this undated handout picture released by The University of Colorado July 20, 2012. Holmes is the suspect in a shooting attack which killed 12 people at a midnight premiere of the new Batman movie in a suburb of Denver early on Friday, according to law enforcement officials. The University of Colorado Denver|Aschutz Medical Campus confirmed that Mr. James Holmes was in the process of withdrawing from the University of Colorado Denver’s graduate program in neurosciences. HANDOUT/Reuters/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive370618
AMANDA MEDEK, who is looking for her sister Micayla, is comforted by officials at Gateway High School after talking to police. Twelve people were killed and 50 wounded when a man entered a nearby movie theater during a midnight showing of ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ the third movie of the recent Batman trilogy, and began shooting early on Friday morning. Eric Bellamy/ZUMA Press/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: zumawireworldphotosfive557966
A distraught woman is counseled by Pastor Quincy Shannon(L) 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 on July 20, 2012. The shooting suspect in custody has been identified as 24-year-old James Holmes, US media said Friday. Television networks cited the FBI as saying that Holmes, from the town of Aurora, Colorado, scene of the midnight shooting at a screening of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises,” did not appear to have any known terrorism connections. JONATHAN CASTNER/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: afplivefour582809
A fire truck ladder is pictured outside the Denver shooting suspect’s apartment building in Aurora Colorado, July 20, 2012. A masked gunman killed 12 people at a midnight premiere of the new Batman movie in a suburb of Denver early on Friday, sparking pandemonium when he hurled a gas canister into the auditorium and opened fire on moviegoers. Police also searched the suspect’s apartment building, breaking into a second-floor window after officers had been lifted in a crane, looking for explosives after the suspect made statements about explosives in his home. EVAN SEMON/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive370565
Map locating Aurora, Colorado, where gunman opened fire in a theater, killing or wounding dozens. Yingling/MCT/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: krtgfxlive041285
The Century 16 Theatre where a masked gunman killed 12 people at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado July 20, 2012. EVAN SEMON/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive370169
Police cars in front of the Century 16 theater in Aurora, Colorado where a gunman opened fire during the opening of the new Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” killing at least 12 people and wounding 38 others on the morning of July 20, 2012. The shooting suspect in custody after at least 12 people were shot dead and around 40 were wounded at a movie screening in the United States has been identified as 24-year-old James Holmes, US media said Friday. Television networks cited the FBI as saying that Holmes, from the town of Aurora, Colorado, scene of the midnight shooting at a screening of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises,” did not appear to have any known terrorism connections. JONATHAN CASTNER/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: afplivefour582507
Law enforcement officials block roads near the Century 16 Theatre where a masked gunman killed 12 people at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado July 20, 2012. EVAN SEMON/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive370139
Law enforcement officials gather outside the Century 16 Theatre where a masked gunman killed 12 people at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado July 20, 2012. EVAN SEMON/REUTERS/Newscom. Find it on Newscom.com: rtrlfive370115
You may be interested in some of these other posts from FocalPoint:
Harry Potter Stars: Where are they now?
Costa Concordia: the Salvage Effort and Haunting Errors Made
Tags: aurora, batman, century 16, colorado, james holmes, shooting, the dark knight rises