Serenity Brydon, 7, from Aurora, looks at a memorial near the the Century 16 movie theater Sunday, July 22, 2012, in Aurora, Colo. Twelve people were killed and dozens were injured in a shooting attack early Friday at the packed theater during a showing of the Batman movie, “The Dark Knight Rises.” Police have identified the suspected shooter as James Holmes, 24.AURORA, Colo. – The suspect in the Colorado shooting rampage displayed behavior that a gun range owner thought was “bizarre,” but it is still unclear if anyone at the university where he studied had any hint of his plans.
Police said James Holmes began buying guns at Denver-area stores nearly two months before Friday’s shooting. He also received at least 50 packages in four months at his home and the University of Colorado that authorities are investigating to see whether they contained materials for the potentially deadly booby traps that police found in his apartment.
At the same time, the quiet 24-year-old was in the final weeks of the first year of a rigorous Ph.D. neuroscience program, where he took a three-part final exam required for students to progress in the program and was scheduled to give a presentation on MicroRNA Biomarkers before abruptly leaving in June.
Holmes is being held without bond on suspicion of multiple counts of first-degree murder after a shooting rampage minutes into a premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora early Friday that left 12 people dead and 58 injured.
He is scheduled for an initial hearing Monday and has been assigned a public defender.