NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the gunman suspected of attacking a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado resembled Batman’s arch-villain “The Joker” at the time of the shocking attack.
“We have some information, most of it is public. It clearly looks like a deranged individual. He had his hair painted red, he said he was ‘The Joker,’ obviously the ‘enemy’ of Batman,” Kelly said at a news conference after noon.
Kelly said the NYPD is stepping up security at movie theaters around the city after suspect James Holmes walked into a Colorado movie theater during a midnight showing of the new Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” and opened fire, killing 12 people and injuring dozens more.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly called the shooting “horrendous” and said the NYPD is working to keep moviegoers safe.
“As a precaution against copycats and to raise the comfort levels among movie patrons in the wake of the horrendous shooting in Colorado, the New York City Police Department is providing coverage at theaters where the ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is playing in the five boroughs,” Kelly said.
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Ten people were killed inside the theater and two others died at the hospital after a gas mask-wearing gunman stood at the front of the theater and fired into the crowd about 12:30 a.m. local time at a theater in a mall in Aurora, Colo., police said.
A 3-month-old was among those hurt, CBS Denver reported. Police said earlier that 14 people had died, but later said that only 12 fatalities were confirmed.
The suspect, who police have identified as 24-year-old Holmes, is in custody. Federal officials told CBS News the suspect didn’t resist when he was arrested.
Holmes spoke of “possible explosives in his residence,” Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said after Holmes’ arrest.
Police have confirmed that Holmes’ apartment is booby-trapped and have evacuated surrounding buildings.
Oates said bomb technicians are determining how to disarm flammable or explosive material in the third-floor apartment. He said police could be there some time.
He said pictures from inside the apartment are fairly disturbing and the devices look to be sophisticated.
One rifle, two handguns, a knife, a bullet proof vest, a ballistic helmet, a gas device, a gas mask, military swat clothing and unidentified explosives were also found in Holmes’ car, a law enforcement source told CBS News.
Holmes has no known criminal record and records show he previously lived in San Diego, CBS News reported.
He was a student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver until last month, said school spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery. She did not know when he started school or why he withdrew.
The attack appears to have been planned well in advance, a law enforcement source told CBS News.
Police said his car was parked in the rear of the theater and that the suspect entered and exited the theater through an emergency door. There is also evidence that he may have done surveillance of the theater before the shooting, the source said.
“Witnesses tell us he released some sort of canister. They heard a hissing sound and some gas emerged and the gunman opened fire,” Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said at a news conference.
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When the gas began to spread, some moviegoers thought it was a stunt that was part of the movie. Then they saw a silhouette of a person in the smoke near the screen, first pointing a gun at the crowd and 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.”
Seeger said she began crawling toward an exit when she saw a girl about 14 years old “lying lifeless on the stairs.”
Police, ambulances and emergency crews swarmed on the scene after frantic calls started flooding the 911 switchboard, officials said.
