Horrible news to wake up to this morning:
A heavily armed gunman tossed tear gas into the darkness of an Aurora, Colorado movie theater Friday and then sprayed the audience with gunfire during an early morning screening of the new Batman movie, killing 12 and wounding 38 others, authorities said.
One of the injured was just 3 months old, according to hospital workers.
Police arrested a man believed to be the shooter in a rear parking lot of the theater, Frank Fania, a police spokesman, told CNN. The suspect was not immediately identified. Police said he was a man in his 20s from Aurora.
The gunman, 24 year old James Holmes, was carrying an AK-47, wearing a bullet proof vest and a gas mask. When he entered the theater he let off a tear gas canister. Police arrested him at his car, outside the theater and without incident. If one good thing comes out of this it’s the fact we have the shooter in custody and police can get information out of him, like a motivation.
It does sound like the suspects mother wasn’t shocked by the news:
A San Diego woman identifying herself as James Holmes’s mother spoke briefly with ABC News this morning.
She had awoken unaware of the news of the shooting and had not been contacted by authorities. She immediately expressed concern that her son may have been involved.
“You have the right person,” she said.
“I need to call the police,” she added. “I need to fly out to Colorado.”
That statement is very eerie. The mother knew her son was capable of such a tragedy. The question is why she did nothing to warn people of her son?
We will learn more as the day goes on. Right now the big question is about motivation. What would cause someone to take life so needlessly? Hopefully we get straight answers and not a bunch of spins from the talking heads out there.