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Suspected in Colorado Identified; Holmes Told Police Apartment Booby-Trapped; Witnesses in Theater Give Details; Obama Cancels Campaign Events, Speaks About Shooting; NYC Mayor Blasts Candidates Over Guns.

Aired July 20, 2012 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": And hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, it's 11:00 on the East Coast, 8:00 on the West. I also want to welcome our international viewers this hour.

We start with that horrific shooting in Aurora, Colorado. President Obama talked about it just moments ago, asking for a moment of silence to remember the victims.

Here's what happened during the midnight showing of the new Batman movie. The suspected gunman unloaded on the crowd after filling the room with smoke.

Take a look now at that cell phone video that was taken from right outside of the theater as people ran for the lives. You can actually see some of them covered in blood.

Twelve people were murdered, 10 died inside that theater, two others at the hospital. Thirty-eight others were wounded, one of whom, a 3-month-old baby. Local reports say at least nine of the victims are now in critical condition.

Here's how one witness described the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER SEEGER, WITNESS: He came in and he started lighting a gas can and he threw it into the crowd. At that point, he shot his first fire into the ceiling to scare everybody and they just started scattering and mass chaos just happened.

At that point, he went from here to here and he just pointed the gun at me. I was terrified so I just dove into the aisle and then, at that point, he started shooting people behind me and I had bullets that were on my forehead, burning my forehead and I just told myself I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here.

So I just like stood there for a second - well, I didn't stand -- I crawled on the ground and I laid in a ball and waited for him to go up the stairs. And I said, the second that he goes up the stairs, to my friend Corbin, we've got to crawl. We've got to get out of here.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Wow. Police say the suspect is now in custody, his name, James Holmes, 24-years old and well-armed. They found one assault weapon, a shotgun and two handguns. He also had at least one canister believed to be tear gas.

Still no motive, but the ongoing investigation happening right now. This is video from the suspect's apartment building. James Holmes had told police it was rigged with explosives, but police found none, only, quote, "items of interest."

We also know how Holmes got into the theater. Law enforcement officers say that he propped the door open before the attack, but it still raises the question, when did he do it? Was he in the theater earlier in the evening or was the door unlocked.

Some people even thought the gunfire and smoke were part of the show, a stunt designed just for the premiere. Our Ed Lavandera just touched down in Aurora. Ed, what have you been able to find out just so far?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra. Well, that is the theater that you see behind me. We arrived on the scene just a short while ago, still trying to assess the situation as quickly as we can.

But we have had a chance to speak with several witnesses who were in those theaters last night when the shooting erupted and what really stands out as you talk to many of them wearing Batman T-shirts. They have not slept all night. You could tell that they had clearly gone out for an evening of what they expected was going to be a very fun time, watching this premiere of this movie at this midnight showing.

One of the witness we spoke with was sitting in the far back and he described to me just a little while ago, Kyra, the scene inside the theater. He says he saw someone come in through an exit door just off to the side of the movie screen and throw a canister up in the air and it sound like some people thought it was fireworks.

And then you could feel kind of the choking of the gas in his throat. And then the gunfire erupted. He said it felt like it lasted hours. He thinks he heard somewhere between 15 and 20 gunshots and then went on to describe the incredibly chaotic scene.

Kyra, I also spoke with one other witness who was in the movie next door that was also playing the Batman movie, as well. That witness told me that the gunfire erupted at the very point in the movie where there was a shoot-out scene, so you couldn't tell if it was gunfire or part of the movie and that were actually bullets flying through the wall and actually wounded several people. The witness I spoke to said that a friend of his had been grazed in the neck by a bullet that had gone through the wall.

So, right now, authorities have completely cordoned off the movie theater area and the parking lot. This is attached to a large mall, a shopping mall, here in Aurora, Colorado, which is a western suburb of Denver. Streets around this area have been cordoned off and blocked off, as well, and, as we see law enforcement here this morning going inside the movie theater, assessing the situation and trying to piece together what has happened.

But the witness descriptions of what it was like being inside that movie theater when this gunfire erupted is simply chilling and many people just grateful to be alive and still trying to figure out just how seriously wounded some their friends are at this point.

Kyra?

PHILLIPS: And, Ed, I know you just got there. You just touched down and you're working all your sources and talking to eyewitnesses. I just want to throw a couple of things out you may know, you may not know. We'll just go with the flow here.

I saw a number of reports that the gunman was possibly dressed like one of the characters in the movie and that sort of fooled people. They thought that the gunfire or the sounds of gunfire and smoke were a part of the premiere to kind of get people excited, get them in the mood, and that he was actually possibly dressed like one of the characters.

Are you hearing anything about -- we heard he had a bullet-proof vest on, wearing a gas mask. What is your assessment been so far of those descriptions?

LAVANDERA: Well, the -- a couple of the witnesses that I have had a chance to speak with so far here, early on, one of the witnesses who has stood out to me the most vividly remembers what was like staring at the gunman and seeing a gas mask, with him wearing a gas mask.

As far as what else he was wearing, the witnesses I spoke with say that he was dressed in very dark clothing. He definitely appeared to perhaps be wearing some sort of vest or bullet-proof vest perhaps. They weren't totally sure, but they could tell that he was definitely dressed in dark clothing.

That canister, when that person opened up the door next to the movie screen, which was the exit door, and they saw a canister fly through the air and then hit the ground and it started exploding. Some people thought it was firecrackers. As to whether or not, the witnesses I spoke with didn't say they thought it was part of the movie. They say that in just a matter of seconds they knew it was something much more serious because the gunfire started erupting.

The witnesses I spoke with also say they vividly remember hearing the different sounds of gunfire and, as we have been reporting, this suspect came in with various different types of weapons and the witnesses kind of backed that up. And they could hear the different sounds of gunfire coming from the shooter, as well.

So, clearly, that clear description changing weaponry as this attack went on. Those are some of the stories and glimpses we're getting into what it was like inside that movie theater last night. PHILLIPS: All right and two more questions and, Ed, you let me know if we need to move - actually, Ed Marr (ph), let me know if we have to move on. Otherwise, I've got two more questions for Ed Lavandera. OK, great.

Ed, two questions. The bodies, are they still in the movie theater? Obviously, there's a huge forensic investigation that needs to take place. Do you know about the victims and, if indeed, those that were murdered, are the bodies still in the theater?

LAVANDERA: As far as bodies, I'm not sure at this point. We're still trying to figure out that out. We haven't had a chance to speak is with law enforcement here on the scene just yet.

We do know that many of the people who were wounded actually in the theater themselves were pulled out. Many people have been taken to hospitals overnight, still being treated in hospitals, as well, a great number of people who were wounded in this attack.

But that scene inside the movie theater, it was described as a horrific scene and, obviously a situation where those law enforcement officers and those crime scene investigators are in there right now combing through all of that.

PHILLIPS: Got it. OK, Ed Lavandera there, just arriving to Aurora, Colorado. Ed, as you find out more, please let us know. We'll check back in with you live out of Colorado. Ed, thanks so much.

Well, as you have heard, a number of these witnesses saying they were staring death right in the face. That's what hundreds of people did last night and when all they wanted to do was just be the first one to see that new Batman movie.

Well, a lot of people as you know are sharing their stories this morning. This is just a few of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: It was a midnight movie massacre. This is the cell phone video taken by someone at the theater, showing frantic people fleeing the building, some with blood on their clothes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody kicked in the emergency exit and started throwing gas grenades and starting shooting people at random.

At first it took me a second to realize what was actually going on and, as people were running away, I hit the ground so I wouldn't be hit.

PHILLIPS: At first some of the movie-goers thought the smoke and gun fire was just a stunt, all a part of the premier.

JENNIFER SEEGER, WITNESS: He came in and he started lighting a gas can and he threw it into the crowd. At that point, he shot his first fire into the ceiling to scare everybody and they just started scattering and mass chaos just happened.

At that point, he went from here to here and he just pointed the gun at me. I was terrified, so I just dove into the aisle. And then, at that point, he started shooting people behind me. And I had bullets that were, you know, on my forehead, burning my forehead, and I just told myself, I need to get out of here, I need to get out of here.

PHILLIPS: Another witness in the theater, next to the one where the shooting took place, saw bullets actually coming through the walls. A friend described the gunman to him.

ALEX MILANO, WITNESS: A man about six-feet tall, taller than her, kicked through the door and he was in -- she said a riot helmet. She said he had a bullet-proof vest on. You know, she said that he was completely covered in all black with guns.

She said after that point when she said she saw him holding a shotgun, her and her boyfriend dropped to the floor and just kind of started to crawl to see if they could get away. They got up and they started to run through the emergency exit.

She said that, when she turned around, all she saw was the guy slowly making his way up the stairs and just firing at people, just picking random people.

PHILLIPS: Random people, shaken, shocked and right in the middle of the gunfire. Many of them teenagers like 15-year-old William.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I saw was a man bust open the entrance of the right corner and he throws a tear grenade and, you know, we're thinking at that point it's part of the show, you know?

But then we realized he started shooting off some rounds and that's when we realized it was serious. There was a lot of screaming and it was shocking.

PHILLIPS: Outside the movie theater, those who managed to get out safely described the horrifying scene.

DONOVAN TATE, WITNESS: When we got out of the building, it was just chaos. You saw injured people. There was this one guy who was on all fours crawling. There was this girl spitting up blood.

There were bullet holes in some people's backs, some people's arms. There was this one guy who was stripped down to just like his boxers. It looked like he had been shot like in the back or something. It was - it was crazy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And welcome back, everyone, and welcome to our international viewers joining us this hour.

We are still on breaking news this morning. We're talking about that massacre in a movie theater in Colorado. Twelve people dead, 38 injured in Aurora and now we're trying to put faces and names together, talking about the victims.

One of those who was killed, we are now being told, Jessica Ghawi. Here's a picture of her. She's also known as Jessica Redfield. This picture was actually tweeted out by one of her many friends.

Peter Burns is one of them. He's actually on the phone with us now. He's a Denver-area radio host and he lost a really good friend last night. Peter, why don't you go ahead first and tell us about Jessica, how you knew her and also how you found out that she had been killed.

PETER BURNS, FRIEND KILLED AT MOVIE THEATER (via phone): Kyra, she was just such an incredible, vibrant young girl. You know, she was an intern with my radio show in San Antonio for a couple of years and I moved out to (INAUDIBLE) to host radio shows here and she just wanted a career in sports journalism.

So she had started saving up money and said, kind of begging her family, hey, allow me to move to Denver and chase my dream and this is where you need to be to further your career.

So about a year ago, she moved out here and she was just like a little Chihuahua. She wanted to put, you know, be involved in everything. And it was such a great heart and worked for all the sports organizations here with internships and I was awoken by a phone call from her brother last night at 2:30 a.m., but in a weird way, I didn't pick it up and said, oh, I'll just give them a call in the morning, and then sure enough before my show this morning, it was confirmed.

PHILLIPS: Wow, so did you hear a voicemail then from her brother?

BURNS (via phone): Her brother had not left a voicemail this morning, but what was eerie as I, during the commotion of everything this morning, I checked my Facebook account and there was a message from her probably around, you know, I want to say 11:00 p.m. or so last night, asking if I was back in town from a vacation I had just had.

We were always kind of partners in taking each other to the airport and I was kind of her little support system here and it's just still surreal here, right here right now.

PHILLIPS: Well, this is actually the first chance, Peter, that we have been able to really talk in depth about one of the victims because, as you know, what happened overnight, it's been hard to get information and obviously this is extremely difficult for grieving families.

So, you know, just so we can take a moment to lift her up and I think that all of us in this business can relate to someone this young and energetic and excited about starting her career. I think you pointed out that perfectly, that you'll go anywhere, you'll take whatever pay to take advantage of someone that's giving you an opportunity to make it in this business and it sounds like you were one that believed in her and you were giving her that opportunity.

BURNS (via phone): Yeah, I mean, without a doubt. I mean, and I think one of the things, the stories -- and I talked to her mother briefly a few minutes ago and I asked her, I said, "Hey, this is - you know, do you want me to talk?"

And she said absolutely. We need to celebrate the lives of not only Jessica, but those of the great people in all these different stories that are going to be. I mean, it's so unfortunate that this story today will be about the victims, but what is going to live on more so is going to be the name of the coward that did this.

And I understand that's the world we live in now, but it's a shame. So any opportunity to tell the story and I'll do it really quickly is the fact that ...

PHILLIPS: You don't have to do it quickly. Peter, you don't have to do it quickly. You take your time. Go ahead.

BURNS (via phone): Thank you. I mean, about a week and a half ago, right before I left town, my girlfriend and I, she gave us a call and said, hey, can I have dinner with you guys? I've got an idea.

And I said, sure. Absolutely. It was always something she wanted to get involved in and I said, OK, let's do it. And we were both exhausted and we said, OK, let's do dinner.

So, we do dinner and she goes, there's been horrific wildfires here in the Denver area and she goes, I want to do something for the families of all the people that lost all their hockey equipment. She loved hockey.

So she was asking - you know, bless her soul, she didn't know how to set up a charity, but she says I've contacted, you know, (INAUDIBLE), all these different organizations, these players, and these blogs, and they're willing to help. Help me do a non-profit. How do I set it up? How do I get it to the victims of the wildfire?

And she goes and the one thing that will always stick with me is she goes, I don't want my name on this. I don't need any credit. I'm not doing this to further career. This is -- there's people, there's families that won't be able to play hockey now because of this tragedy, how can we help?

PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh.

BURNS (via phone): And it was just that. I mean, over and over and over again, just, you're not going to find a person that had more of a heart and more passion of what they wanted to do. And it's just amazing to me and I hope we can celebrate with her and all of the rest of the victims of this tragedy.

PHILLIPS: Peter, how old was Jessica?

BURNS (via phone): I believe she was 24.

PHILLIPS: Twenty-four? And ...

BURNS (via phone): Yeah, just young and had just transferred over here about a year ago and, crazy enough, she had just moved to that area of town about a month ago in order to save money so she could continue to kind of pursue her career and do what she wanted to do?

PHILLIPS: Is she from Colorado?

BURNS (via phone): No, she's from Texas.

PHILLIPS: She's from Texas. OK, and just finally before I left you go, did her mother say anything to you that she wanted folks to know how she wants her daughter to be remembered. I mean, that's incredible that mom even had the energy to talk with you, Peter.

BURNS (via phone): And she just said that she wanted to tell the stories and Jessica was amazing person and she was so vibrant on Twitter and it's a weird way to kind of remember, but trending right now is the #RIPJessica on Twitter and she was found on Twitter @JessicaRedfield.

So, interesting story, she was in the Toronto mall shootings about a month-and-a-half ago and blogged about it. So, any way that we can keep her name out there and, like I said, the more we can celebrate those lives of victims rather than the coward that did this is a better day.

PHILLIPS: I agree and point, well made. Peter Burns, thanks so much for calling in. I really appreciate it.

BURNS (via phone): Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, all morning we have been hearing from the people who were sitting in those theater seats and their revealing accounts paint quite a picture of p pure horror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard gunshots and like little explosions going on and shortly after that, we heard people screaming. And then they came on the p.a. system and pulled the fire alarm and said everybody needed to get out. And as soon as we got out, we saw people running around screaming.

TATE: There was this one guy who was on all fours, crawling. There was this girl spitting up blood. There were bullet holes in some people's backs, some people's arms.

There was this one guy who was stripped down to like just his boxers. It looked like he had been like shot like in the back or something. It was crazy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: I want to welcome our viewers here in the states and across the world, we are following that horrifying tragedy in Aurora, Colorado. Twelve people killed, 38 injured after a gunman opens fire in a movie theater.

It actually happened during a midnight showing of the new Batman movie and, now, a 24-year-old suspect is in police custody.

We're also learning about the victims, those who were killed and those who were injured. Apparently, we are finding out -- you might have heard my interview with a radio host out of Denver who told us one of the victims, Jessica Redfield who was an aspiring journalist in the sports business.

Now, I'm being told that possibly some of these victims -- not sure if it's a number of them passed or injured, but involved in this situation. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us. Possibly members of our military, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, that's exactly right. This tragedy now reaching out and touching U.S. military families.

Just a few moments ago, here at the Pentagon, the press corps was told by the press secretary, George Little, that there are now, in his words, "indications that some of the casualties" -- he is not saying whether they are deceased or injured - "some of the casualties were members of the United States military."

But in addition to that, we have heard from Buckley Air Force Base, which is nearby in Aurora, Colorado, that they have some military members among the injured. So, what we know is that amongst the injured, some are members of the U.S. military, according to these reports, and the Pentagon tells us that there were some military casualties.

That's a very interesting word, in these situations, Kyra, casualties. They are not saying yet whether they're referring to the injuries we know from Buckley service members or possibly, tragically fatalities because certainly family notifications are under way with all of this and with the investigation continuing.

Buckley Air Force Base, nearby in Aurora, Colorado began a count, a head check this morning at 2:00 a.m. when this happened. They began calling all of the service members and families stationed at Buckley to check in on everyone, make sure that everyone was OK, that their family members, possibly children who were attending the movie.

So, they for the last several hours have been going through their phone lists, trying to contact everybody, and they have about 10,000 military personnel stationed at Buckley, who are both Air Force, Army Reserve, Army National Guard, some from other services as well.

This is sort of a joint base, if you think of it that way, so it's taken them several hours to get through that phone list, now confirming that they do have some military members among the injured. Tragically, the Pentagon saying that there are military casualties in this, Kyra. PHILLIPS: All right, let us know, obviously, if you get more. Barbara Starr, thanks so much.

Law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks with me here. And you know what, Mike? You've got SWAT experience, FBI experience, police experience. I'm going to talk with you about that in just a second, but since Barbara is mentioning casualties, possibly members of our military, here's what's interesting.

We know how our members of the military are trained. We know what they're all about and their courage. It's possible that some of these men and women might have tried to take this gunman down, lost their lives doing that, injured doing that. Now, this adds an interesting element to this chaos.

MIKE BROOKS, "IN SESSION" LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: It does. In fact, I was speak earlier on our sister network, HLN, to a marine who was there with his significant other and heard the weapon, was describing the shots, the chaos, what was going on right after that, but he wasn't in any position in the theater to take any kind of action.

But he smelled what appeared to be tear gas or pepper spray inside the theater, but he described the scene as total chaos.

PHILLIPS: OK, so, let's just back just a -- is that a source you need to -- I always want to make sure, if something's coming through, let me know because I know we're always talking with our sources in situations like this.

OK, let's back up for a second and just talk about the gunman. Twenty-four-years old, you know, he's dressed some say like a character in the movie. Let me ask you about the fact that he didn't resist arrest. Does that tell you this guy was -- it was the thrill of the kill. He wanted attention. He got it. He was done.

BROOKS: But why did he wear a bullet-resistant vest? Why did he have, as some witnesses describe, a helmet on and a gas mask? And, you know, but law enforcement, their headquarters is only about three blocks away from this theater. Aurora police headquarters, so they got there very quickly.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Let me ask you, because you have dealt with guys like this before. They want to go as long as they can. So they're going to gear up, right? The thrill is the gunfight and wanting to survive as long as they can because they think it's heroic.

BROOKS: Exactly. And he had a shotgun, an A.K.-style rifle -- we don't know if it was fully automatic, semiautomatic -- and a couple of handguns. What else did he have in that car? We're not hearing that yet. But a lot of times you hear when there's a shooting like this, they'll either take their life or they'll have law enforcement kill them. This guy is 24 years old. What was his motive? We don't know the motive yet, Kyra. And we don't know -- (CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Does he have a rap sheet?

BROOKS: We don't know that. We know that he was a resident of Aurora, Colorado. That was talk early on -- never able to confirm it -- there might have been Tennessee tags on his vehicle. Because his vehicle was parked right behind the theater in the parking lot of the theater.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: You don't necessarily need training to do something like this, because this could have been a guy who was watching television shows, was on the Internet and got various pieces of -- got a vest, got a helmet. The question is, how did he get the weapons.

BROOKS: Right.

PHILLIPS: Were they registered?

BROOKS: Exactly. The other questions is -- and we haven't been able to specifically say was he acting alone or was there somebody else helping him. There was witness accounts that there was a guy sitting on the first row, it appeared he was taking a cell phone call, that he went outside and propped the door open. Was this that guy? They believe it might have been. But law enforcement, they're going on right now that he was acting alone. But I know never to say never whenever it comes to this. But the important thing is what are they finding inside that apartment.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about the apartment because they have got video of that. I couldn't figure out if it was SWAT or FBI.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: -- that was going into --

(CROSSTALK)

BROOKS: There was at least one FBI agent and two law enforcement officers. I saw them go there -- first of all, they were using a mirror or some kind of listening device before they put the tower ladder up here from the fire department, Kyra. They used the pipe hole and they knocked the windows out.

PHILLIPS: Let me explain to our viewers about the mirror. That's a way you go outside without putting your face up against to the window to try and figure out if there's booby-traps, explosive, anybody inside the apartment.

BROOKS: Right. One of those officers from Aurora had a long mirror on a pole and he was standing on top of his SWAT vehicle. Then they brought in this tower ladder. They were looking inside the window. There's maybe some other technology that they were using I know that's available there. You see at least one FBI agent. He's in a green vest with FBI on the rear, and two other officers coming back and forth. Then you saw --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: -- the window then.

BROOKS: You see them clear the window out with that pipe pole, then they pulled the frame out. But in between, it looked like he was taking pictures, or using some type of a scanning device, maybe a thermal imaging device, that kind of thing to see if there's any heat signatures. My question is, what brought them to go to use this secondary entry location instead of going through the front door. Me, before I was scene on the scene, me, as a former investigator, you always have to worry about booby-traps.

(CROSSTALK)

BROOKS: Because did this guy --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: -- the front door.

BROOKS: That's exactly right. Did this guy think that he wasn't going to be coming back there, and that's why he booby-trapped it. These are all questions that remain unanswered. The fire department, they had pulled supply lines and hand lines, hoses, and they were in there with self-contained breathing apparatus, early, for a while, into this, because that apartment still wasn't secure. And that says to me they're pulling those lines as a precaution should there be any kind of fire inside that apartment. It says to me there's some kind of hazardous material inside that apartment.

PHILLIPS: They said no explosives, but items of interest. are we talking about a computer, are we talking about a journal, are we talking about, you know, what's it call, not a manuscript, what I'm talking about -- manifesto. Manifesto.

BROOKS: Sure. There's always a possibility. They're going to be looking at his social media accounts. We know, we have seen other incidents, Kyra, where people who have done this, before they do something like this, they'll post something on Facebook or some other social media site.

Was he by himself? How long was he plan -- I guarantee you, this wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment thing. This was something that was planned out. How long had he been planning on this, and had he maybe told other people about this or intimated something that was happening. I don't know. These are all questions that the local police and the FBI had.

And I tell you, the FBI out in Aurora, they have a great relationship with law enforcement out there. They have a Rocky Mountain State Task Force that a friend of mine started up a number of years ago. And Aurora is one of the departments that's on the task face. They work well with those agencies there. There's so many questions to be answered that we still don't know. But they do have him in custody.

PHILLIPS: Mike, thank you very much.

BROOKS: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Appreciate it.

We're going to keep you updated on everything that's happening in Aurora, Colorado as we keep getting the details. Stay with us as we get the details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We welcome our viewers across the world and here in the United States. We are just getting the first details from witnesses of the shooting rampage -- the explosion of gas grenades, the smell of tear gas, the suffocating smoke and chaos, all before the bullets started to fly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: All I hear is gunshot after gunshot and just women and children are screaming. All I smelled was gunpowder in the air and I was just terrified. And the gas was getting to me and I was having a hard time breathing. And I told them, if you don't get out of here, I'm going to suffocate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Let's get to our CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, who has been monitoring all the details of the victim's injuries.

Why don't we start, because 38 people wounded, a 3-month-old baby one of them? We're told nine in critical condition, is that right?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Right.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: So tell us what we need to know.

COHEN: I want to talk a little about what that woman was talking about. This is not just a matter of people being treated for gunshot wounds. These people are being treated for chemical exposure. These people were exposed to tear gas, so not only do they need --

PHILLIPS: It was tear gas?

COHEN: That is what our reporting is saying, that is was tear gas. So they're coming in not only needing to be treated with bullet wounds, but they have to be decontaminated. They need to be stripped of all their clothes. They need to be washed down with soap and water, which is what you do when you have a tear gas exposure. Eyes need to be flushed out. This gets to be a very complicated and difficult situation.

PHILLIPS: I remember being in a situation like that in Iraq, and it was my co-worker that started having horrendous respiratory problems, could not breathe, could not get it out of her system. Explain to our viewers if you're right here there tear gas.

COHEN: You're in a relatively small enclosed area, there is no place for it to go. This is a very heavy vapor and it will often go down. So people were probably going down to the ground to avoid the bullets, well, they're going down into the tear gas, because that's where the tear gas goes. We think of tear gas as something that affects the eyes, which it does, it almost affects the nose, the mouth, the lungs, you're having burning all those places, you're coughing, difficulty breathing, your lungs are irritated, people often vomit. It's almost a systemic reaction.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about the victims now and their injuries. Probably a lot having to do with the tear gas.

COHEN: Right. They have to deal with that, they have to decontaminate these people as they bring them in. Also, you're dealing with -- and hospitals drill for this, so that's always good. You're having this large numbers of people being brought in. Nine critical patients all at once. That's a lot to deal with.

PHILLIPS: Do you know anything about this 3-month-old baby?

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: It's awful. Can you imagine being the parent, you're there trying to dodge the bullets and you've got this baby on your lap and you're trying to protect them and you, and there's tear gas? I can't imagine.

PHILLIPS: And just thinking the effects of that on a 3-month-old baby versus an adult. Not everything has developed.

COHEN: Even more so. They're smaller, so the dosage is even higher. They're much more vulnerable to any kind of a tear gas injury.

PHILLIPS: Elizabeth Cohen, appreciate your insight. Keep us updated on the victims, please --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: -- as we learn more. We want to be able to tell our viewers about the conditions of everyone involved.

Thanks so much.

PHILLIPS: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: We're going to continue following breaking news here on CNN. For the latest developments, watch us live or you can go straight to CNN.com. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Once again we welcome back our viewers across the world as we follow the breaking news here on CNN. Here's more of what we know about that deadly shooting at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. 12 people are dead, 38 injured. The man identified as the suspect, James Holmes, 24 years old, white male. Witnesses say he was wearing a gas mask and a bullet-proof vest.

Susan Candiotti joining us live from New York.

Susan, this is changing by the second, I understand you have new information with regard to the weapons?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. More of a description about the types of weapons that were found involved in this case. First, they found a 12-gauges shotgun. Now a 12-gauge shotgun has a legal capacity of carrying up to three shells at a time. But of course it could be modified. But normally this is a weapon that would fire one shell at a time. In addition to that, they also have recovered an A.K.-47 type of assault rifle. Now it is these guns that are typically capable of being equipped with a magazine that can hold up to 30 rounds at a time. It is not known if this is an automatic or a semiautomatic. It is not known if you hold the trigger down, it could fire off more than one round. In addition, Kyra, they also have recovered two handguns. No further description about that.

We also want to talk about what they're doing about all these weapons. Naturally, they want to try to find out where they did come from? Were they purchased? Were they stolen? Is there any military connection to this? How did he acquire these guns or was someone providing them to him? Did he have any help? A lot of things they want to take a look at. And a lot of work they may be doing involving these weapons.

They also have additional information about the search that is now going on at that apartment. Remember, we have been reporting all along that they have been approaching this very, very carefully, still trying to make entry into that apartment. There are fears about that apartment where he lived, the suspect, because it could be booby- trapped. Now that information came from the suspect himself, saying that he left behind an explosive device of some kind. So this could take a very long time before authorities actually get inside that place. They obviously are taking all kinds of steps. We have been seeing them using those ladders, poking through windows, breaking windows. And of course they want to be properly equipped before they themselves go inside to make sure they're well protected -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Susan Candiotti reporting from New York.

Susan, thank you so much.

We will bring you all the details about the suspect as we get them. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

PHILLIPS: President Obama has canceled his campaign events today in light of the shooting in Aurora, Colorado, but he did make a quick stop in Fort Myers, Florida, to have a chance to speak about the tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm sure that many of you who are parents here have the same reaction that I did when I heard this news. My daughters go to the movies. What if Malia and Sasha had been at the theater, as so many of the kids do every day? Michelle and I will be fortunate enough to hug our girls a little tighter tonight, and I'm sure you will do the same with your children. But for those parents who may not be so lucky, we have to embrace them, and let them know that we will be there for them as a nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Mitt Romney also weighed in this morning, offering his condolences and prayers, saying that "Ann and I are deeply saddened by the news of the senseless violence and we are praying for the families and the loved ones of the incident with immense shock and disbelief."

We will bring that press conference you in a moment live and we'll bring it to you live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And the breaking news is out of Aurora, Colorado, this morning. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg now speaking out against gun violence in the wake of the Colorado shootings. At a local New York radio station, he issued a challenge to the presidential candidates to open up about their stances on gun control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: Soothing words are nice, but maybe it is time that the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it because this is obviously a problem across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And as the first shots rang out, there was a moment when reality and fiction definitely blurred. Many people watching the movie thought that they were hearing the explosions, gunshots, screaming as part of the shootout unfolding on the screen. Then suddenly, it was clear what was happening was a massacre within their own theater.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM WASHINGTON, WITNESS (voice-over): It was a scene where Anne Hathaway is basically in a shootout with the police. And so there is all of the gunshots going through the theater. And at one point, you know, one of the shots just happens to be really, really loud, and it is so much so that I kind of go for a second -- I could not hear, and I hear a loud ringing. And joking with my brother, I say, hey, we are actually -- I mean, and these sound effects have gotten pretty good. And then you start to hear them again and people are screaming in the theater and then it starts to register that there is something wrong here. And we all start to make our way to the exit, and in runs a guy who yells, don't go to the lobby, he has got a gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN's the live coverage of the massacre in Colorado will continue after the break.