Q: What happened?
A: Shortly after midnight Friday, a gunman wearing a gas mask and black SWAT gear set off a gas canister and then opened fire inside a crowded theater during a showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colo., killing 12 people and wounding nearly 60 others, authorities said. The suspect was arrested near a car behind the theater and identified as 24-year-old James Holmes. Authorities did not release a motive. The FBI said there was no indication of ties to any terrorist groups.
Q: Who is the suspect?
A: Holmes was studying neuroscience in a Ph.D. program at the University of Colorado, Denver but was about to drop out. He enrolled in June 2011 but left a year later, though it wasn’t immediately clear why.
Q: What is going on at Holmes’ apartment?
A: Police said the third-floor apartment was booby-trapped, so they’ve evacuated five surrounding buildings and bomb technicians were determining how to disarm flammable or explosive material. “It’s a pretty extensive booby trap. We’re not sure what it’s attached to. There are trip wires. There are three containers and we don’t know what it’s inside,” said Chris Henderson, deputy Aurora fire chief.
The apartment is about four miles from the theater.
Q: Are movie theaters still showing the film?
A: Yes, though theaters throughout the country and police increased security.
New York City’s police commissioner said he was told the gunman had painted his hair red and called himself the Joker — Batman’s nemesis — but Aurora police would not confirm that.
Q: Who was hurt in the theater?
A: Many victims treated at hospitals were under 40, including a 4-month-old baby and a 6-year-old. The oldest reported patient was 45.
Victims were treated for chemical exposure, apparently related to canisters thrown by the gunman, and gunshot and shrapnel wounds.
Names of victims were slowly leaking out Friday night.
— The Associated Press
