AURORA, Colo. — After disarming the booby-trapped apartment of Colorado shooting suspect James Holmes, authorities used dump trucks to transport the chemical contents found there to a nearby field, where they were ignited and destroyed, authorities said Sunday.
Police said Holmes, 24, spent months amassing explosives, weapons and ammunition and then walked into a movie theater early Friday and began shooting. He had two pistols, an assault rifle and a shotgun when he allegedly opened fire in Theater 9 at the Century 16 multiplex in Aurora, killing at least 12 and wounding 58 others. On Sunday, the Associated Press reported that the semiautomatic used by the alleged gunman jammed during the attack, forcing him to switch to another gun with less fire power.
Video
Authorities have released the names of the victims killed in Friday's rampage at an Aurora, Colo. movie theater. Makeshift memorials have sprung up, and friends and relatives of the victims are speaking out about the loss.
More on this story
At least 12 died and dozens were injured in the mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater.
MAP | A look at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colo., and what we know about what occurred.
See information on some of the world’s deadliest mass shootings.
The official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the investigation, said the disabled weapon had a high-capacity ammunition magazine. According to the news service, police said that a 100-round drum magazine was recovered at the scene and that such a device would be able to fire 50 to 60 rounds a minute.
In an appearance Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan said nine of the people wounded were in critical condition and some had undergone several surgeries. The death toll could rise, officials said.
“They’re in bad shape,” Hogan said. “There are people who have had already numerous surgeries, numerous brain surgeries, there are some folks that are in bad shape.”
Hogan said authorities were analyzing the contents of Holmes’s apartment.
“I’m told there was a computer inside the apartment and with the assistance of the FBI that computer will be completely analyzed,” Hogan said on the news show. “That may take some time. So we’re hopeful that will yield some information.”
Meanwhile, details began to emerge about the failed neuroscience student who is scheduled to appear in court Monday — a young man who, despite troubles in academia so severe that he was quitting his graduate school program, showed no obvious sign of being on the brink of extreme violence.
ABC News reported that Holmes had been studying neuroscience under a grant from the National Institutes of Health, only one of six people annually selected for the honor, according to the report. The network also broadcast a video from a science camp in San Diego that the network said Holmes attended six years ago, at the age of 18, where he addressed an audience on the topic of subjective experience.
In the video, the person who introduced Holmes to the audience at the science camp said his professional goals were to become a researcher and make scientific discoveries. She said that Holmes enjoyed soccer, strategy games and one day hoped to own a Slurpee machine.
Last fall, Holmes began a four-year doctoral course in neuroscience at a University of Colorado medical campus in Aurora, a Denver suburb. He would be studying the mechanics of the brain, the ways that electrical signals transmit thoughts and sensations. Holmes was part of a small group of first-year students who met together numerous times a week for classes in a small conference room.
Police said Holmes, 24, spent months amassing explosives, weapons and ammunition and then walked into a movie theater early Friday and began shooting. He had two pistols, an assault rifle and a shotgun when he allegedly opened fire in Theater 9 at the Century 16 multiplex in Aurora, killing at least 12 and wounding 58 others. On Sunday, the Associated Press reported that the semiautomatic used by the alleged gunman jammed during the attack, forcing him to switch to another gun with less fire power.
Video
Authorities have released the names of the victims killed in Friday's rampage at an Aurora, Colo. movie theater. Makeshift memorials have sprung up, and friends and relatives of the victims are speaking out about the loss.
At least 12 died and dozens were injured in the mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater.MAP | A look at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colo., and what we know about what occurred.See information on some of the world’s deadliest mass shootings.The official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the investigation, said the disabled weapon had a high-capacity ammunition magazine. According to the news service, police said that a 100-round drum magazine was recovered at the scene and that such a device would be able to fire 50 to 60 rounds a minute.
In an appearance Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan said nine of the people wounded were in critical condition and some had undergone several surgeries. The death toll could rise, officials said.
“They’re in bad shape,” Hogan said. “There are people who have had already numerous surgeries, numerous brain surgeries, there are some folks that are in bad shape.”
Hogan said authorities were analyzing the contents of Holmes’s apartment.
“I’m told there was a computer inside the apartment and with the assistance of the FBI that computer will be completely analyzed,” Hogan said on the news show. “That may take some time. So we’re hopeful that will yield some information.”
Meanwhile, details began to emerge about the failed neuroscience student who is scheduled to appear in court Monday — a young man who, despite troubles in academia so severe that he was quitting his graduate school program, showed no obvious sign of being on the brink of extreme violence.
ABC News reported that Holmes had been studying neuroscience under a grant from the National Institutes of Health, only one of six people annually selected for the honor, according to the report. The network also broadcast a video from a science camp in San Diego that the network said Holmes attended six years ago, at the age of 18, where he addressed an audience on the topic of subjective experience.
In the video, the person who introduced Holmes to the audience at the science camp said his professional goals were to become a researcher and make scientific discoveries. She said that Holmes enjoyed soccer, strategy games and one day hoped to own a Slurpee machine.
Last fall, Holmes began a four-year doctoral course in neuroscience at a University of Colorado medical campus in Aurora, a Denver suburb. He would be studying the mechanics of the brain, the ways that electrical signals transmit thoughts and sensations. Holmes was part of a small group of first-year students who met together numerous times a week for classes in a small conference room.