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Colorado Shooting; Woman Narrowly Escapes Shooter
Aired July 20, 2012 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: A night at the movies turns into day of tragedy and grief. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. We are waiting for a police news conference about this massacre that happened at a Colorado movie theater.
In the meantime, we are learning more about the shooting suspect James Holmes. He was a Ph.D. candidate in neurosciences at the University of Colorado. He was in the process of withdrawing, we are hearing.
This is the very latest on how the shooting unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(INAUDIBLE.)
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MALVEAUX: Cell phone video captured this chaos after the gunman burst into the theater in Aurora, Colorado and opened fire. At least 12 people were killed, 38 others wounded. Now, this theater, it was packed with people attending the premier of the new batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises" when the gunman started this rampage. Now, police have arrested a suspect in the parking lot, and authorities, they are still trying to piece together just how this all unfolded.
I want to bring in Ed Lavandera, he is outside the theater. You have been talking to a lot of people who were actually in that room, who saw the gunman, who heard the explosions, what have you learned?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, right now we're waiting just to kind of give you an update. We're waiting on a briefing from law enforcement officials here in Aurora, Colorado. We are several hundred yards away from the movie theater. We anticipate that that will happen here at some point shortly. But we were talking earlier with one of the witnesses, a gentleman -- this gentleman, Chris Ramos, who was inside of the movie theater. We got cut a little bit short, but Chris's explanation of everything that transpired here last night is so poignant. I thought it would be good to bring him back, and we were cut short. But let me just take you back, for viewers who weren't watching a little while ago. You're in the middle of the theater, basically, you came with your sister.
CHRIS RAMOS: And my two best friends, yes.
LAVANDERA: And then, all of a sudden, we're just a short ways into the movie and what do you see?
RAMOS: On the front right emergency exit, a door opens and then from there, something is thrown up in the air, and, honestly, we thought it was part of the movie. But it turns out, it was actually tear gas. It explodes and then it starts going up towards the air.
LAVANDERA: And this is just a couple of rows in front of you.
RAMOS: This is just a couple of rows in front of me, three or four rows down and everything. But the impact of it was definitely very, very strong. He threw one for like three rows in front and threw one way out in the back. People from there just started standing up, and then we heard like fireworks sounds, like bam, bam, and then that's when everything gets crazy. It goes rapid like bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. The guy right next to me actually gets, like, he gets shot. And I hear like the noise of a -- like a splash noise. And he just jerks and it happens fast and then I just jumped down with my sister.
LAVANDERA: How old is your sister?
RAMOS: Seventeen?
LAVANDERA: Seventeen.
RAMOS: Seventeen. And I brought her just so she could have a good time, you know, to enjoy a movie. And it turns into something completely straight out of a horror film at best.
LAVANDERA: And were you able to get a look at him?
RAMOS: I was not able to get a good look at him from my -- from where I was at. I only saw his figure. It was complete black. That's all I ever saw.
LAVANDERA: You thought he was wearing a mask?
RAMOS: A gas mask, yes. He had to because of the fact that the tear gas was everywhere, so that it, like, completely filled, like, in the building.
LAVANDERA: Was he saying anything?
RAMOS: He was not saying anything at all. He was just quiet and he was literally just shooting everyone like it was, like, hunting season or something. People were standing around, he wasn't aiming for a specific person. He was aiming for as many people as he could.
LAVANDERA: And then it stopped?
RAMOS: It stopped after, like, a minute and a half to two minutes. It felt like it was so much longer but it was not --
LAVANDERA: And what did he then? Did anybody try to go after him or anything? RAMOS: That's the thing, no, everyone was running in the chaos and everything. And he casually walks up away from the screen like nothing happened. And honestly, that's the part that really got me. The fact that a man can really just walk casually like nothing happened knowing that he just shot a whole bunch of people. Right then, when it stops, I get up and I tried grabbing my sister -- we tried getting out of there. There's bodies down on the floor, on the chairs, we see, like, blood everywhere --
LAVANDERA: Do they --
RAMOS: -- and people that are shot and trying to get out.
LAVANDERA: Sorry to interrupt. The man next to you, do you know what kind of condition he's in?
RAMOS: I do not. I talked to the -- to the daughters of the guy that was sitting right next to me, they said that they tried waking him, they were, like, calling him, like, saying, dad, dad, like, trying to make him respond, but he was not responding. And then, like, I see them out, like, 20 minutes later in the parking lot, and their dad wasn't with them, like at all. And they were saying, like, he is still inside.
LAVANDERA: And how young were the girls?
RAMOS: Eighteen to 19.
LAVANDERA: Teenagers.
RAMOS: Teenagers -- they are teenagers. And they looked like they were, like, on the phone talking to their mom. They were just crying, their dad was, like, in there. And that wasn't the only one, there was more people in there looking for people. And there is -- I saw this girl who was crying because her boyfriend was still in the theater -- in there. She was crying, and calling, and calling him, and he was not answering.
LAVANDERA: Was everybody just rushing to get out at the same time?
RAMOS: People -- so many people were rushing. People were, like, trampling over everyone. Like, people were, like, running on top of me. They were, like, running over, like, the bodies that were down on the ground. Everyone, their number one instinct was just trying to survive, and I can't really blame them, because, you know, I was not thinking of anything else but getting out of there. I forgot about my two best friends, and I was just trying to get my sister out because that's the only person I could think of.
LAVANDERA: As you're trying to leave the theater, do you think the gunman was still in that theater?
RAMOS: He was definitely -- probably still in there, because I never saw him going out or leaving. Like I said before, right when the shots stopped, he just started walking away from the screen, not towards, like, the rights of the exit -- where you can enter an exit, like the right or the left side. It looked like he was just walking straight. And from there, right when we left, we didn't see him. He was not in the lobby or anything like that.
LAVANDERA: Do you think that he had help getting into the theater? Did you see anything suspicious in the moment right before that?
RAMOS: This is the thing, honestly, I just saw the door open. Like, all of a sudden, it was like, the door opening right there, and I didn't see anyone helping him at all. And I'm pretty sure if someone did, like, someone would have screamed during -- we were not -- we would have heard something. But, honestly, it just looked like he just opened the door. Just opened it. That's all it looked like he did. Definitely did not look like there was, like, any help from anyone else. Like I said, I had known for a fact that there was one person there shooting. I was sticking my head out trying to see, and I saw the guy just shooting. It was just one guy.
LAVANDERA: Do you think many of the people who were shot and wounded or killed there, were those people in the area closest to you or was it spread out throughout the theater?
RAMOS: That's the thing, it was spread out equally. I know there was probably people that were shot in the front, but also, too, like, my friend A.J., he actually got shot and he was, like, in the front rows right where the handicaps were at. And then, there was the guy that was right next to me that got shot, he was, like -- we were, like, three or four five rows up from the middle but below. And he was aiming everywhere. There was not a specific spot he was aiming at, he's not aiming for a certain person. He was literally aiming for everyone, and he was trying to kill everyone as much as he could.
LAVANDERA: And when you got outside the theater, you spilled out into the parking lot, right?
RAMOS: Yes.
LAVANDERA: And you were telling me that you were helping somebody out there who was wounded?
RAMOS: Yes, a guy who got shot in the leg was calling for help and everything. We helped him out, my sister -- I grabbed my sister's belt, we wrapped it around on the top of his wound, trying to stop the blood flow and everything. And then, we picked him up, dragged him all the way out right there, to, like, the parking lot right where the cops were out. And he was trying to call his wife and everything. And the sad part is that with this evil, this death, it had no bound, it had no shame, it did not care about age, it didn't care about anything. Little girls were shot, little boys were shot, elderly people were shot, teenagers were shot, people that were still in high school, they were shot. He did not care. Death did not care at all, about age, sex or anything. It was all a massacre.
LAVANDERA: Well, I don't -- I know -- I know it's an emotional moment for you, and I appreciate your sharing. Do you think -- you were telling me a second -- we were talking earlier, you don't see how you get over this?
RAMOS: It's a hard thing to get over, but it's definitely not impossible. And I can't change what happened at all, but the only thing that I can change is what's happening now. And I know it's up to 14 people or I don't know of that exact number, they passed away. Their lives have been taken away and the fact that a guy that was right next to me that got, I don't know how he is but the fact that it missed me, I am thankful that I have a second life and I definitely don't want the take this for granted. But I know there is evil in the world, I am not naive about that. There is evil in the world but then there is good.
And the one thing that I do want people to know, the main message I wanted to get across, it's not to forget that, to remember the good times of life, the beautiful things. Don't just remember the horrible things about life, because life can be a beautiful thing. We just have to be strong and overcome the evil of this, like the movie of batman, the true message of it, standing up against corruption, against evil, against death, standing up. A normal citizen just standing up to what's right. It's ironic that that happened, but it is the message that the batman movies give out is standing up for something that's right. And even though the times get hard, the darkness is always darkest before the dawn. The second movie, that's what it said. And it's exactly like this.
LAVANDERA: Well, I hope that good attitude helps you get through this. And I know this is difficult. Thank you for a very poignant -- and thank you for sharing that with us now. Suzanne, I mean, that's as powerful as it gets and I'll just leave it there and let viewers kind of soak all of that in as best they can right now -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Yes, well, we appreciate Chris so much just for the emotion, for his insight, and he is a survivor of something that is so tragic and he is learning -- he is taking away a life -- a life lesson I think that we can share, we can all take away. Thank you, Ed. I appreciate it. And please, thank Chris as well.
As you can imagine, there are 911 call -- they started to pour in after this gunman started to open fire. It was certainly a frantic time for the police as well, and I want to play for you this -- the dispatch calls from officers as they try to rush in and help some of these victims.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Theater is secure. We're bringing out bodies now. Get someone to the back as soon as you can, rescue personnel. I got like three to seven hit.
Cruiser 10, I need a medical crew in line , I've got one victim eviscerated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need somebody to shut this movie off, someone shut the movie in nine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do I have permission to start taking some of these victims via car? I got a whole bunch of people shot out here and no rescue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, load them up, get them in cars, get them out of here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: We're going to have more details about some of the things that were found in the apartment of the suspect, James Holmes, as well as some of the details about what took place in that theater, up next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, after all of the shooting was done, I looked up for a brief second, I saw he was reloading and walking towards the back of the theater, and the arch is up, and just saw he was walking back there, and I grabbed my girlfriend and my friend and I said, we got to get going, because he is reloading and now is our chance. And leaving, I saw a guy laying on the floor, he was covered in blood and a lot of people ran to help him, when he -- the guy was reloading his weapon. So, we just left and a bunch of people left at that time. It was just -- it was crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Investigators are searching the apartment building of James Holmes, he is the suspect in this theater massacre. Our own Joe johns has more information about what those investigators have found. Joe, what do we know so far, Joe?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, we've been getting conflicting reports -- and this is important now, conflicting reports about whether there are, in fact, explosives believed to be at the apartment of the suspect where authorities have been camped out for so long this morning. There had been some fairly persistent reports that the apartment might have been even booby trapped. However -- and we want to make clear these are conflicting reports. An official who is familiar with the investigation has told CNN the alcohol, tobacco and firearms bureau along with federal agents -- FBI agents, have joined Aurora police now in the search of the Holmes' apartment. And after using a bomb sniffing dog, officials determined that there were no bombs or explosives on the scene. So, your question would be, if there aren't any bombs, what's been taking so long there? Another federal official has told CNN, in fact, that they did take some time to try to get a warrant, a search warrant, to go in there to continue their investigation. So there may have been somewhat of a hold-up over getting a search warrant. Federal officials say no explosives at the scene.
But it's important to remind our viewers that federal officials are not in full control of the scene there in Aurora, Colorado. It's, in fact, local authorities who have control of the scene. So we're waiting to find out what they say hopefully in just a little while to give us more information about the status of this weapons -- this explosives investigation.
Meanwhile, the same authority who told us about the development with the bombs, or no bombs, also says four weapons were recovered by authorities. Those weapons were an assault weapon described as a 223 caliber knock off of an AR-15. And this is a little bit new information as well for people who understand guns. They're not using the term AK, which is something we'd been reporting earlier. We'd been saying there was an AK knockoff. Now we're being told it's more like an AR-15.
Along with the assault weapon, officials say they retrieved a shotgun. No more details on that. And two Glock handguns. And they could not, though, provide any information to CNN on how many of those weapons were fired during the attack, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And, Joe, we know that Mike Brooks had reported earlier that, according to his sources, they actually widen the perimeter while they were doing that search for possible explosives --
JOHNS: Absolutely.
MALVEAUX: Just in case, because they really didn't have a sense of just how big or what they were dealing with here.
I wonder when folks will be able to come back into the building.
JOHNS: Right.
MALVEAUX: And, secondly, and I don't know if we know this or not, whether or not James Holmes lived alone or he had a roommate or somebody else who was inside of that apartment complex.
JOHNS: Absolutely. There are a lot of details up in the air here, including the question of whether there were explosives actually at the apartment, because you've got the feds saying one thing, the locals seem to have put out some information that says quite the contrary, that they think the building is booby trapped. What we've been told is that a dog has sniffed the grounds and found no indication of explosives there.
So hopefully at this news conference coming up soon they'll be able to work out all the details for us and give us some indication as to whether they do in fact think the area is safe and that people can go back in, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And, Joe, just to clarify here, are they talking about just his apartment alone or are they talking about the whole building that they have not found any explosives within that whole building, that structure?
JOHNS: Right. My understanding, and I've asked this question a few times again to our producer, Terry Frieden , who's been talking to his sources as well, that they're -- they're talking about the apartment. I can't give you any further information about the apartment building. And we do know it's that entire building that has been evacuated. My understanding is the questions raised to the official who knows what's going on, on the ground, had to do with the apartment proper, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Joe, we do know that there is going to be at least a scheduled expected press conference with law enforcement authorities in about 12 minutes or so. And so if we get more information, clearly we're going to go to that and see if we can't sort all of that out.
Joe, thanks again.
I want to talk to Jennifer Seeger. She was actually there. She was sitting in the second row of theater nine. And this is a woman who came face-to-face with this guy, with this gunman. And she is joining us from Aurora, Colorado.
Jennifer, you have told your story and it is just harrowing to hear the kind of experience that you underwent last night. Can you take us through when you first realized there was something that was terribly wrong.
JENNIFER SEEGER, WITNESS TO SHOOTING: Yes, I can definitely do that.
It has been kind of a roller coaster for me as far as, you know, just kind of flashbacks. But, you know, I was sitting in that second row on the very end. I was the first person there. And when he walked in, he came through an exit door in a coroner in a back hallway. And I thought he was just part of, you know, the entertainment as far as I could see. You know, I thought he was just, you know, adding pizzazz to it. You know, adding some special effects or something. I didn't think that he was a bad guy and that everything he had on him was real. You know he had a gas mask. He had a rifle in his hand. He -- I mean and he -- what he did was, he came in. He didn't say a word. All he did was take this green grenade full of gas and he took the tab off and he threw it and it explode everywhere.
And as that happened, everybody started coughing and screaming. And then he shot a fire up into the ceiling. That's his first shot of the whole night. And then everybody started panicking and realizing that it was real. It wasn't a just for entertainment. That it was -- he was a real bad guy. And at that point he takes his gun and he walks -- he walks a little further, takes a couple of steps, and he points it at me. At that point he has a rifle in my face. He's literally like three feet away from me with a rifle in my face. And I was just petrified. I just didn't honestly know what to do at that point. I knew I had about a five second window to be able to do something, move or anything or just get shot. So, you know, I dove forward into the aisle on the ground and I tucked myself underneath a chair to try to, you know, hide myself.
But then he ended up shooting somebody behind me. And all the bullet casings kept falling on my forehead. They were like singeing my forehead. And there was just gunpowder in the air. And all I hear was screaming and just bloody murder. And just relentless shots just over and over and over. And I told everybody just to stay calm and don't move. And once he goes up the stairs to just crawl as far as we can on to the other side and try to escape. And once I ended up doing that, you know, it was just a terrifying process. All you hear is like women and children screaming. And you see gunshots fired.
And at one point it was really quiet because he was reloading his gun. And then everybody started running an scattering. And he didn't have an agenda. He was just literally just massacring anybody that got up that was trying to run away. Women, children.
I mean I heard that a baby was shot. I heard that a six year old was shot. And I was just thinking the entire time, you know, how come I got so lucky? You know, I'm 22 years old. I've lived my life. You know, as far as that goes, I would love to take a bullet for that six year old to live their life, you know what I mean. I just couldn't -- I couldn't fathom that thought.
MALVEAUX: That's a very admirable thing to say and to feel to want to do that to save somebody else. How did you manage to save yourself? How did you get out?
SEEGER: I, you know, it was a very big process. I don't even know. It's kind of a big, you know, blur as far as things goes. But, you know, when I -- when I was -- when I was went and got on the other end of the aisle, everybody tried to run out towards the door, towards the exit. But then I saw them running back in and it was because the gunman was taking the gun and shooting people so that they couldn't escape the exit and everybody was running back in.
So what I was doing with everybody was just saying, just play dead. You just play dead. Just lay in the aisle and lay still. Don't move. Just act like you're dead. And then he went on his way and then went to somewhere else to shoot somebody else.
And at that point I said, everybody just go. Just move, just move, just move. And at that point I saw, you know, dead bodies laying on the stairs. There was like a 12-year-old girl who was -- who was just like lifeless on the stairs. And I was just completely devastated at that point. I just didn't know what to do. I almost didn't make it through -- make it to the very end because that tear gas was getting to me. My eyes were watering. I was panicking.
And then at that point I brushed against a young gentleman, who would probably be about 18 years old, I don't know, he had a bullet in his back and he was bleeding. And, you know, I have some EMT training and I was trying to instinctively figure out if he was OK. What -- you know, what state he was in. and I was -- I was feeling his pulse and he was just -- he was fading away really quick. So I went ahead and tried to pull him out. And at that point they're like, no, no, no, put him down because the gunmen's coming back and he'll shoot you. So I got scared and I ran and I dropped the young man and left him in there. And as far as that goes, I don't really know if he's OK or not. I really do -- I hope he -- I hope he is.
You know, I would have gladly taken the bullet for that man as well. You know, I -- all I did was bear crawl my way out and just pray that, you know, I wouldn't get shot or that anybody else got hurt any more. There were just so many bodies laying on the ground. Whether they were dead or injured or anything, it was just beyond my control. I -- my fathom. I couldn't even fathom the idea of what was going on. I was just kind of trying to live through it.
MALVEAUX: Jennifer, we are so glad that you did live through it and that you were so lucky and you were so brave in some ways. You say there was a point where he pointed that rifle at you and you saw him directly. He was wearing a mask.
SEEGER: Yes.
MALVEAUX: Did you have a chance to see what he looked like or did you even have a chance to lock eyes?
SEEGER: No, not exactly. He literally had a gas mask on and he was covered from head to toe in clothing. And he looked like a SWAT person, you know? He looked like that kind of guy in the military or something. He had a vest on. He was in Kevlar. He -- I mean, he had a belt around his waist with his ammo. He had a rifle. Apparently he had other weapons too. I didn't see those. I only just saw the rifle that was in my face, honestly. And that's all I could focus on at that timeframe. I don't think anybody could blame me.
But -- and he -- he didn't have any kind of identification other than his height, which was probably about 6'0", 6'3". And he probably weighed about anywhere from 185 to 200 pounds. And he was very stocky and strong. At that point I couldn't imagine what his color of skin was. I mean if, you know, I couldn't tell anything of that nature.
MALVEAUX: Did he have any -- did he express any emotion at all during that time?
SEEGER: None. None. Not -- it almost seemed like fun to him. Honestly, it just seemed like a game to him. Like it was just some big plot. And I'm pretty sure he planned the whole thing out. But, honestly, it just seemed like one big scheme to him and he was just having fun just killing innocent children and moms and dads.
And I was just crying and hysterical at that point. I couldn't stand to see people just getting killed for no particular reason. I mean he's 24-years-old. I'm 22. And there's not a big gap of age. But I don't still see any reason for somebody to just massacre innocent people like that.
MALVEAUX: Did you call your family, Jennifer? Have you talked to your family?
SEEGER: Oh, yes. My dad has been here all day with me every step of the way. He's been answering phone calls from other news companies. He's been there every step of the way. He's not a very emotional person, but the fact that he cried when he -- and he heard that I was OK, was really heartfelt for me. I did -- you know, I just couldn't -- it just shows, you know, like the compassion that everybody has for their kids. And my heart goes to all those people that lost their kids yesterday.
MALVEAUX: Jennifer, can you tell me a little bit about how your dad reacted. You said he's not a very emotional person. What happened when he first saw you?
SEEGER: Yes, you know, he's not -- he literally cried and he gave me -- he -- I mean, I was doing so many interviews at the time and all he wanted to do was give me a big bear hug, quote, unquote. And so I was just trying to get to him, but I was just so busy with everything as far as, you know, come here, do this, do that. But eventually, at one point, I gave him a hug and he said, you're my daughter. And he said, he -- if he was there, he would have killed that guy. And, you know, anything that a parent -- typical parent would have said in that situation. And he hugged me and we cried for a second and then we composed ourselves and he's been here every step of the way.
MALVEAUX: That's good for dad. Jennifer, last question. And, of course, we want to continue to talk to you. But do you have any sense of why it was that you were able to get out?
SEEGER: I don't know. I think it's God's way of saying that I'm useful in this world. That I'm meant to go do something and help somebody in some way. I don't know. I think I'm just blessed, you know what I mean. I can only thank God for that, you know. I don't really know the reason. All I know is that I'm very grateful and very thankful.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Jennifer. We're thankful for you as well and your time and your story. We really appreciate it.
And we're going to have to take a break and we'll get right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
MALVEAUX: We are getting more information about the victims of the massacre at that Colorado theater. A U.S. official now telling CNN that, at this point, two U.S. military -- they have two Navy personnel, who were injured in this attack as well as two Air Force Reservists. Four people from the military who were injured in that massacre that took place inside of that theater.
I want to bring Mike Brooks in to talk a little bit about the law enforcement aspect of this in the investigation.
So we talked to Joe, and he said that there are now conflicting accounts about whether or not there were explosives or explosive material that was found at the building of James Holmes, the suspect, in this case. Why is that? Why is that so? Because it is early on that we are getting this kind of conflicting reports?
MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes, it could be. And when you are there you have a joint command post, if you will. And usually, I would like to see law enforcement and public first responders speak with one voice at one time. But little information gets out here or there, because they were saying that the Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates had said that they thought it was booby-trapped with an explosive or incendiary device to make a fire. But that makes sense, because of what we were seeing before, of them trying to go through the window, an alternate way of getting into the apartment, and also what I saw of the fire personnel who were there, who had hose lines and supply lines and hand lines stretched with their SVA protective equipment on, in case something happened. Because that says to me that apartment was not totally clear.
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: And waiting for the warrant, there's no hurry. Once you go ahead and find out what is in there, then you can go ahead and get a warrant and then make your action of going into the apartment. There is no hurry.
MALVEAUX: How tough is it to determine whether or not it is booby-trapped? Because we had a report some time ago that one of the dogs, the bomb-sniffing dogs didn't find anything. Is that good enough or you are to physically get into the apartment building and go room by room, foot by foot?
BROOKS: Yes, you have to get in there and take a look. Let's say you have a suspicious package sitting here, you are not to put a dog on that. That's a technician, you want to x-ray it and send up a robot to inspect it physically and then there's other sensing devices you could use to see if there is any explosives material that is involved there and any gasoline or incendiary device. But a dog is a good tool. Is it 100 percent? No, not all of the time. And that is why you have the bomb technicians who are the ones who will deal with the situation like this.
MALVEAUX: I want to play a little bit of the police dispatch tapes and some of the things that we are hearing early on, and get your reaction to what they were discovering.
(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)
DISPATCHER: 315 entry and for a shooting at Century Theater, 1400 East Alameda Avenue. They're saying somebody is shooting in the auditorium.
DISPATCHER: 315 and 314, at least one person who has been shot, but they are saying that there are hundreds of people just running around.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: We are told he is in theater nine. From what I am smelling inside, it smells like O.C. maybe, too.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Get some damned gas masks for theater nine. We can't get in it.
(END AUDIO FEED)
MALVEAUX: What does that say to you, Mike? Because the police department was three blocks away from the movie theater. That is an incredible impact, the fact that they were so close.
BROOKS: Absolutely. You heard the officer asking for some gas masks, because he thought he smelled O.C., which is olio resin capsicum, which is pepper spray. It could have that smell, because it is something that officers are trained in, and they are going to know the smell very, very well.
So, you know, what kind of things did he have inside of there, for sure, we don't know for sure. But right now, it is the job of working the crime scene there at the theater, because apparently, there were 10 people killed there at the scene, and two others died at the hospitals, and also working the apartment. The apartment will be a treasure trove of possible evidence, and we don't know a motive yet, Suzanne. We know a motive of why this person did it. We believe he acted alone, but we don't know that for sure either. That is why the parents in San Diego are being interviewed by the law enforcement as we speak, because I want to know everything about Mr. Holmes. I want to know everything.
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: What would you want to know about him?
BROOKS: I want to know how he grew up. What kind of schooling he had? Had he ever done anything, any run-ins with the law before? Had he tried to make any kind of devices? Because he is -- and we know he is a smart guy. He was a PhD candidate for neurosciences.
MALVEAUX: Yes.
BROOKS: Yes, so we are talking about a very, very smart guy here. But what was his background? What was his mental? Did he have any mental health problems in the past? Did have any depression? Because this wasn't something that just happened spur of the moment. This is something that he planned out and carried out there at that theater this morning.
MALVEAUX: And, Mike, final question before we get a quick break in, but is it typical to have those 10 bodies in the theater and those people who did not make it out alive to be there at the scene to investigate further? I mean that is --
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: Yes, that is normal. There is no rush. You know, it is unfortunate you have the 10 victims there, but there is no rush to do the crime scene. You want to make sure that you conduct a proper and thorough crime scene investigation to make sure you make a case against this person, this Mr. Holmes, that is going to stick.
MALVEAUX: All right. Mike, we are going to stick around with us.
And we will take a quick break and then, on the other side, we are expecting a police conference with the police department very soon. BROOKS: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: When we got out of the building, it was just chaos. and you saw injured people. And there was this one guy on all fours crawling. There was this girl spitting up blood. And there were bullet holes in some people's backs, and arms. And there was one guy who was stripped down to just his boxers and looked like he had been shot like in the back or something. It was, you know, crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: We are continuing our coverage of this massacre that happened at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Police say that the gunman burst into the new "Batman" movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," and he set off tear gas, walks up the aisles, starts shooting. At least 12 people are now dead. There are 38 that are injured.
Elizabeth Cohen is joining us to talk about some of the conditions of the injured.
And we know at least six area hospitals where people were taken, and the youngest victim was a 3-month-old baby and the oldest a 45- year-old. Do we have any idea how the folks are doing?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We know they're in varying conditions. Some were OK enough that they were released, a small handful of them. Most of them are still in the hospital. They range from good condition to critical condition. We don't know much about that 3-month-old baby. You can only imagine just the horror for that baby and the baby's parents.
MALVEAUX: What are the kinds of injuries that the people are sustaining? What are they saying?
COHEN: Well, two separate things. One is injuries from the shrapnel and bullets, and so some people were receiving several bullets, more than one, and other people were hit by shrapnel and not as dangerous. Some people grazed. And there was some form of tear gas used and people needed to go through decontamination, and they had to wash down and flush out the eyes. That's the standard procedure when somebody comes in with that kind of exposure.
MALVEAUX: Some of the people we talked to earlier today, they described things like burning sensation. One woman said she could literally feel the heat from the bullets whizzing over her head, the shell casings that were falling. And another man who described the smell of things that were burning and very pungent. What are people experiencing when they have tear gas?
COHEN: Well, imagine it was a combination of the gun powder and what not coming from the guns, in addition to the tear gas. It just -- what we have heard from the people is how hard it was to see, of course, because of the tear gas, and how hard it was to breathe. And we forget that sometimes the tear gas does not just affect the eyes, but also the nose and the mouth and it is quite an irritant to the lung. And imagine that the bullets are whizzing by you and maybe hitting you and in addition you are hardly able to breathe.
MALVEAUX: Would a 3-month-old baby be able to sustain tear gas?
COHEN: A 3-month-old baby would live through tear gas exposure, but it would affect that baby more intensely than an adult and it would take longer for the baby, from what we know, to get over the effects of the tear gas.
MALVEAUX: When we get more details, Elizabeth, we will get back to you.
COHEN: OK.
MALVEAUX: We will take a quick break. We'll have more on the other end.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
MALVEAUX: We are awaiting a press conference from the Aurora Police Department to speak momentarily to give us an update, information regarding the massacre that occurred inside of this theater overnight.
As you can image, there is a lot of shock. There's a lot of disbelief in this community. And we have been talking to a lot of people who have been expressing that throughout the morning. You have a shooting rampage, a massacre that occurred inside of a packed movie theater, and a gunman who is opening fire and walking up the aisles, releases some sort of pepper spray or smoke bomb, walks up the aisles and starts randomly shooting people. It leaves 12 people dead. We have heard the descriptions of the deceased. 38 were taken to hospitals who were injured. And hundreds of people who were running or who were impacted in some way traumatized by what they have seen and what they have experienced.
I want to bring in our next guest here to talk a little bit about that. That is forensic psychiatrist, Daniel Bober, who is joining us from Miami.
And first of all, Doctor Bober, we have been talking to people throughout the day. And we just heard from Chris, who is one of the people inside. He recounted the story to Ed Lavandera. He was very emotional. And he got angry while he was talking about this, and then he started to cry. Do you think that this is a good thing for him to experience, to talk about what it is that he saw, what it is that he heard, and how he is feeling right now?
DANIEL BOBER, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST: Well, Suzanne, I think that this is just a horrible tragedy. And I'm just shocked and blown away by the whole thing. It is horrible.
I do think that people who are able to express their emotions and get it out probably will do better than those who try to keep it inside. When this type of tragedy occurs, people respond very differently to it, depending upon their genetics and depending upon their family background. But for the first month or two, you may see people who don't express any emotion about it, and it is sort of the mind's way of protecting itself from such a shocking tragedy.
MALVEAUX: We heard from Jennifer just moments ago, and she was also inside of the theater. She said, you know, I'd take a bullet for the baby. She kept saying, I'd take a bullet for this person or that person, and I'm so blessed. Is there a sense of the people who walked away from this a sense of guilt?
BOBER: Yes, there is a phenomenon called survivor guilt and people who, for whatever reason, look at their life in a philosophical way and want to know, why are they the ones who made it, and why are they the ones who were able to transcend the tragedy, and is there some deeper meaning for them in terms of where they go from here? That is common.
MALVEAUX: What should this community be doing now? What should they be focusing on?
BOBER: Well, the most important factor is support. The people that are exposed to trauma or tragedy, the most protective factor is the support of the people around them. So if they have family, friends, neighbors, people that are really looking out for them, to try to prop them up through this, that really is the best predictor of success.
MALVEAUX: I want to turn to the mindset of the shooter.
I understand that the press conference is about to take place. This is the governor speaking. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN LIVE FEED)
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, (D), GOVERNOR OF COLORADO: All right. Obviously, there are no words to express the intensity of this tragedy. Our hearts are broken as we think about the families and friends of the victims of this senseless tragedy. Really, one thing that I do hope that people can keep -- I mean, this is the act of apparently a very deranged mind. This is a safe city and a safe state and a safe country, and we need to recognize that we can't allow people that are aberrations of nature to take away the joys and the freedoms that we enjoy.
And again, for the victims and their families, they should know that President Obama called Mayor Hogan this morning and then called me, and I think his words are the same. I mean, there is not one of us that doesn't read or hear of this story, certainly anyone who has children, and think about it being your child in that movie theater, your cousin's child or your neighbor's child. That reality makes the pain and the grief too intense for words. But we can't let it keep us from our lives.
So we will -- in Colorado, it is a state that's come together to support the entire community. Aurora is one of the great cities not just in Colorado but in this country. And they will, without question -- they have the right leadership and Police Chief Oates and Mayor Hogan -- that we will come back stronger than ever than this, although it's going to be a very hard process.
With that, I'll turn it back to Mayor Hogan.
STEVE HOGAN, MAYOR OF AURORA, COLORADO: Thank you, Governor.
Clearly, this is a tragic day for this community and this city. As tragic as it is for the community and the city, it is an absolutely horror for all of those people who were in those theaters and their families. Our hearts go out to them. We will always wish that no matter how much we do now that we had done more.
We need to thank everybody who responded as quickly as they did, the police department, fire department, the hospital staffs and the emergency rooms. Everyone who addressed this situation deserves to be thanked. I want to thank also all of the jurisdictions in the metropolitan area that have contacted me this morning offering whatever help we need, whether it's from Denver or Arapahoe County or state of Colorado or the United States government.
We've taken a blow today, but we will get back on our feet, and we will move ahead. If I can say anything to our citizens, and particularly to those folks who have kids, no matter whether they're small or teenagers, it's talk to them. Talk to them. They're going to feel this. And it's going to come out. We have to do our duty as parents and as civic officials and as caregivers, whether it's Aurora Mental Health or any other organization. We've got to talk to our kids. Let them know this is an isolated instance. It's tragic. It's horrible, but it's isolated. We've got to talk about it. It's a tough day.
I'm joined back here by a number of the Aurora city council members, state senators, state representatives, other members of the community. We will all come together. We'll survive this. There's no way around it. It's tough. You can't have that many people die and that many more people be injured in an absolutely senseless situation and not see it as anything but tough.
With that, I'd like to introduce police chief, Dan Oates -- Dan?
DAN OATES, CHIEF OF POLICE, AURORA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Thank you.
Also joining me -- us here today, besides the mayor and the governor, is United States Attorney John Walsh, District of Colorado; Mr. Jim Eucohn , the special agent in charge of the FBI in Colorado; Carol Chambers, the district attorney for the 18th judicial district.
I will give you a briefing. I'll ask District Attorney Chambers to make some comments and Mr. Eucohn from the FBI.
And you'll have to excuse me but I've got a lot of notes here. There's a lot of information to impart to you.
Our suspect's name is James Eagan Holmes. Middle name, E-A-G-A- N. Last name, H-O-L-M-E-S. Date of birth, 12-13 of '87. He resides at 1690 Paris Street in Aurora, Apartment 10. I'll be discussing the situation at his apartment in a few minutes.
His history with the Aurora Police Department is one traffic summons for speeding in October of 2011. We have no other criminal history on Mr. Holmes.
This event began at 0039, so 39 minutes after midnight, the first calls came into 911. I'm told by a colleague, you could describe it as hundreds of calls coming in. Within roughly one minute to a minute and a half, police officers were on scene and apprehended Mr. Holmes in the back of the theater. There were approximately 25 officers on scene within minutes. They spent, besides searching the theater, a good portion of their energy on taking victims and placing them immediately in police cars and driving them to local area hospitals. In the end, with the assistance of our colleagues and law enforcement in this community, there were around 200 officers on scene here.
Mr. Holmes was apprehended outside. His white Hyundai, parked in the back of the theater. And he was apprehended with three weapons in the car. One was left at the scene inside the theater. The weapons are as follow: an A.R.-15 assault rifle, a Remington 870 shotgun, 12- gage shotgun, and a .40 caliber Glock handgun. We believe those were used in the scene. And another Glock handgun was found in the car. We're not sure if that was also used in the scene. I imagine I'll be asked how many rounds were fired. My answer is we have no capability right now of calculating that number. There were many, many rounds fired.
Our best account on injuries is as of right now is that 71 people were shot and that 12 are deceased. Two died at area hospitals and 10 are deceased in the crime scene at this time. We're making best efforts to identify and remove those 10. There are many critical patients and I'm not in a position to give you any update on the 59 who were injured.
We believe that as part of this assault, Mr. Holmes set off two devices to distract the crowd. They ignited in some form and released some sort of irritant or smoke. We know that his car was parked nearby in the back.
Victims were taken to six area hospitals, University of Colorado Hospital, Swedish Hospital, Denver Health, Rose Medical Center, the Medical Center of Aurora, Children's Hospital at Parker Aventis .
We are not looking for any other suspects. We are confident he acted alone. However, we will do a thorough investigation to be sure that is the case. But at this time, we're confident that he acted alone.
During the shooting, in the one particular theater, theater number nine, some rounds penetrated into an adjoining theater. We know one person was hit inside the adjoining theater. The suspect was dressed all in black. He was wearing a ballistic helmet, a tactical ballistic vest, ballistic leggings, a throat protector, a groin protector and a gas mask and black tactical gloves.
We had over 50 detectives respond to the scene, including the 150 to 200 police officers and deputies, and over 50 victim advocates to work with family members. All our federal partners are here, and we deeply, deeply appreciate their help.
We asked the community if there are any tips the, any witnesses to this event that we haven't contacted that they call our tip line, 303-739-1862. In addition, for those in the community who feel traumatized by this event, we have a hot line being offered for all mental health for counseling. The phone number is 303-617-2300.
The crime scene is rather large. It includes numerous cars in the parking lot. We're doing our best to get them released to the owners of those cars as soon as possible. But we will be here for some time.
With regard to the residence, Mr. Holmes at 1690 Paris Street. We responded up there fairly quickly after we -
ENDED IN PROGRESS
