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Colorado Official Updates Massacre; Shooting Witness Speaks
Aired July 20, 2012 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHIEF DAN OATES, AURORA, COLORADO, POLICE: Mr. Holmes lives at 1690 Paris Street. We responded up there fairly quickly after we identified him. And our investigation determined that his apartment is booby trapped with various incendiary and chemical devices and apparent trip wires. So we have an active and difficult scene there. It may be resolved in hours or days. We simply don't know how we're going to handle that. I will tell you that we then evacuated residents to a safe distance. And it includes five buildings in the area being evacuated.
We've been asked how many folks were in the theater. There can tell you there were four showings of the Batman movie. All of them were sold out. And we have interviewed close to 200 witnesses. As to how many people were in the theater, that's the best I can tell you.
A caution about social media. Please, as responsible journalist, be very careful. We are analyzing all social media that is out there about this event. And I can tell you that we are already finding that there are a lot of pranks. There's even someone who called a national media station and represented to be me.
Our colleagues in the adjoining mall have closed the mall for the day out of the cooperation and spirit of cooperation with our investigation.
With that, I'd like to introduce District Attorney Carol Chambers to make a few remarks. And after she makes some remarks, Special Agent in Charge Yacone will make some remarks. And then I will take some questions.
CAROL CHAMBERS, ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Good morning.
I first want to emphasize what a tremendous response there has been from law enforcement and especially from the Aurora Police Department to this incident. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney's office and the Attorney General's office for their support.
With this many victims, we have two concerns. One is providing information that they need and providing resources that they need. We will as -- at this point in time, victims should be contacting the Aurora Police Department and they should be looking for resources on the Aurora Police Department website. As the case goes to court next week, they can contact -- we will set -- we have set up a contact e- mail account so that we can get information out as quickly as possible. We also have resources available on our website. And I want to say that the Aurora Mental Health Center has agreed to stay open 24 hours a day for this weekend. If people -- people may feel fine now and they may have a problem tomorrow, they may have a problem next week, they may have a problem several months down the line, but they should seek some counseling or resources if they've been victims. That's -- it's to be expected. If there are financial issues, that should not stop them. They should contact us for financial resources. So, we want to make sure we are getting out whatever our victims in this case need.
So, with that, I'll turn it over to the special agent.
JIM YACONE, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Good afternoon.
I just want to re-emphasize what Chief Oates has already talked about. We've had a very tightly integrated investigative response. The FBI currently has approximately 100 folks on scene closely integrated with the Aurora Police Department, as do other federal agencies. So the ATF as well is here in force with more than 25 folks.
We are working on interviews. We are also collecting evidence. And we are trying to run leads that span beyond Colorado at this point.
At I want to emphasize, at this point, we do not see a nexus to terrorism, but we are continuing to look and we are being as cautious as possible with the investigation as we move forward. So the joint terrorism task force, representing at least 23 federal, state and local agencies is on site and, again, we are lashed up tightly with the Aurora Police Department and working in a very coordinated fashion.
I'll be followed by Chief Oates and we'll be prepared to take questions.
OATES: Again, I thank all our colleagues in law enforcement if their support today. I'll make a note that Senator Udall has joined us. And we're very appreciative of all the support from all the community leaders who are standing behind me. With that, I will take a modest number of questions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any idea on the motive of this when you talked to the suspect?
OATES: We are not speculating on motive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief, can you walk us through the timeline of this? When it --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did he get inside the theater? How did he get inside the theater, chief?
OATES: OK, let's do one at a time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did he get inside the theater?
OATES: That is -- that is under investigation. I will tell you that the car -- his car was parked right outside the back door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you walk us through the timeline of this, when it began, kind of point by point? And how long -- how much time elapsed?
OATES: Again, I -- we were -- we were on scene within a minute or a minute and a half and we immediately arrested the suspect in the back of the theater. From our first call to his apprehension was about a minute to a minute and a half.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chief, you have people inside the theater -- habitually off duty police officers working the theater. Were they on scene?
OATES: We often have off duty police officers working at this theater. They were not working there that night. But as I said, the response was very rapid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief, what -- have you had -- have you had (INAUDIBLE) --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mentioned (INAUDIBLE).
OATES: He surrendered without any significant incident to our officers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did he choose Batman?
OATES: I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did he choose Batman?
OATES: I'm not going to get into why he did what he did. We simply -- that's not something we're prepared to discuss.
Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just have a question. (INAUDIBLE).
OATES: I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
OATES: No, he was dressed as I described him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he say anything to you?
OATES: We wouldn't -- that's not something we would discuss in this setting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could you tell me what weapon he used to fire at people? Of the four weapons you described, one of them being in the car, what --
OATES: We -- there is -- there's pretty significant evidence that he used the AR-15 within the theater, the shotgun within the theater and a .40 caliber Glock. In the end, he was in possession of two .04 caliber Glocks. So which one he used in the theater or both, that's something we're working on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) order that he used in there ?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many magazines, size of the --
OATES: That -- we're simply not prepared to tell you how many magazines. There is an awful lot of forensic and ballistic evidence. We will be in the theater for quite some time working that crime scene through. So we're not in position to share that with you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ages of the victims. The --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) in New York has -- they've changed some of their plans for this evening. He said on camera that the suspect, that he was the joker and had red hair, but he is cooperating with you and -- can you comment on that?
OATES: No, I can't. I will tell you that I received a phone call from the NYPD today. I used to work for that agency and I discussed the matter with them. But beyond that, I have nothing to say about that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he have the right to have those weapons legally?
OATES: I -- I know we're working up an investigation of those weapons, but I don't know what the legal -- their legal -- their legal status is. We have the assistance of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in that work up and we'll see where that goes. But that's something I'm not prepared to talk about right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How powerful are the explosives in his home?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did anybody else --
OATES: We are not sure what we're dealing with in the home. They appear to be incendiary devices. There's some chemical elements there. And there are also some incendiary elements. They're linked together with all kinds of wires. As a layman , that's not something I've never seen before. We have a lot of very smart bomb techs up there trying to figure out what we're going to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did he tell you that there were explosives in his apartment?
OATES: We don't know why he told us that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Which of the victims are children?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is cooperating, though, somewhat, it sounds like? He's talking to you about --
OATES: I'm not going to discuss what he's told us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aside from that speeding ticket --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did he start shooting --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aside from that speeding ticket, has your department ever been made aware of this individual at any point?
OATES: That's the extent of our contact with him.
Anyone else?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. What did he start shooting with? Did he start shooting with an AR-15 or shotgun.
OATES: If I knew that, I wouldn't tell it to you right now.
Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Monday.
OATES: I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
OATES: We're not in a position to talk about the identity of victims. Let me talk a little bit about our handling of the victims.
We obviously have a lot of work to do. We've mobilized at least 50 victim advocates to deal directly with the victims and their families. We set up a staging area for the families at Gateway High School, which is right down the street. And that continues to be the staging area for victims. And obviously we ask that you give them some space and privacy. There are folks who are trying to locate loved ones. This is a very, very tough day for a whole lot of people. They've been through an awful a lot and we'd appreciate if you gave us some space. But we're not in a position to talk about any of the victims until all the victims are identified and all the family members are spoken to by us. So it will --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When will you release --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there an understanding --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The booking photo?
OATES: I'm not prepared to release his booking photo today and I don't know when we'll do that.
Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it legal to carry am assault rifle in this state?
OATES: I don't know the status of the legality of his possession of those weapons. And I'll leave it at that. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there any evidence the -- of the (INAUDIBLE) in San Diego ?
OATES: All right, one more question.
Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had a witness tell us that she saw a suspicious person in the front aisle that was lingering near the exit where the shooter came in. And I'm wondering if you put (INAUDIBLE)? You said you believe he acted alone. So is that something you don't think played a part in allowing him to get in?
OATES: We have information as to what occurred in the theater based on the roughly 200 interviews that we have made. And we have ballistic evidence inside that suggests how the shooting went down. But we have so much investigation to do. And that's the kind of evidence for a prosecution, not for a discussion at this time.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of the shooter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That door, you couldn't accessed that door from the outside. I has to be opened from the inside.
OATES: We're not prepared to discuss any theories about how he got in there with the weapons. But we will tell you that his car was parked right outside the back door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are there cameras in those theaters?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long did it last? How long did the entire thing last if you got 911 calls starting at 12:39?
OATES: We know there were a lot of rounds fired very rapidly. We know we were there within about a minute and a half to two minutes from when we were called. Now, in an event like that, you know, we can surmise just how much time it takes for someone in that traumatic event to call 911 and get through and dispatch to us. That will all be looked into.
I think we'll leave it at that. Thank you very much, folks. We will -- we'll offer an update to you at 7:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m., and that update will be at Aurora City Hall. OK. Thank you very much.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: What a horrific, horrific Friday.
You're watching CNN breaking news here. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
And just have to say, I know this is a story that saddens us. It maddens us. We have just listened for the first time to the police chief there a Aurora, Colorado, a number of hours really after this horrendous event, this tragedy erupted inside this movie theater just after midnight Mountain Time. A couple of headlines that just came out of that news conference. Let me just glance to my notes. Hundreds of calls came in after this suspected gunman by the name of James Egan Holmes opened fire. Within pretty much 60 seconds, police arrived on the scene. And what we just learned is that he was arrested inside the theater. Inside the back of the theater. In fact, we've also learned that not only did he come in the exit door, his car was parked just outside the theater.
In terms of weapons that they found, they found an AR-15 assault rifle, a 17 gage shotgun, a Glock handgun. Those -- they believe those were the ones he used inside that movie theater. And they found another Glock in the car. As far as how many rounds went off, the police chief said it is impossible to tell that right now. In total, this is a new number, 71 people were shot. Seventy-one people shot, 12 have died, two passed away in hospitals, 10 died in that particular theater. Awful.
Watch this.
Nightmare at theater nine. A gunman opens fire on a terrified audience in Colorado with a midnight premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody kicked in the emergency exit and started throwing gas grenades and started shooting some -- people at random.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Out of nowhere, on the right side of us, we just heard a very distinct pop, pop, pop, pop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): They're saying there's hundreds of people just running around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Those who got out alive described the horror inside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just chaos. There was this girl spitting up blood. There were bullet holes in some peoples' backs, some peoples' arms.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All I hear is just gunshot after gunshot. And just women and children are screaming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have approximately 50 who were hit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The suspected shooter is caught, but so many unanswered questions still remain. As police piece together details of the crime, the president speaks to the nation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If there's anything to take away from this tragedy it's the reminder that life is very fragile.
(EC)
BALDWIN: The news is now.
All right, want to beginning this hour -- really beginning here at the beginning. The mass shooting inside the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. This heavily armed gunman opens fire during a packed midnight screening of the Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises." The toll at this hour, 12 dead, 59 wounded. And the scene, total chaos, as this gunman enters the theater through an exit door not long after the movie started, tossed a tear gas canister and started shooting at anyone in sight.
The magnitude of the horror unfolded as police rushed to the scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Team six, we've got another person outside shot in the leg. A female. I got people running out of the theater that are shot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get us some damn gas masks for theater nine. We can't get in it. We need rescue inside the auditorium. Multiple victims.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sixteen , I've got seven down in theater nine. Seven down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got a child victim. I need rescue at the back door of theater nine now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And then witnesses begin to give us a glimpse of the absolute terror and the bloodshed inside this theater. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was this one guy who was on all fours crawling. There was this girl spitting up blood. There were bullet holes in some peoples' backs, some peoples' arms.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For like 10 minutes or 15 minutes it was one or two minutes but it was just horrific.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: As you now know, here he is. The suspected gunman now in custody. He's identified as James Egan Holmes. This is his picture. Twenty-four years old.
How did police arrest him? We just heard a little bit about that in that news conference. It turns out, he never actually made it out of the theater parking lot. Police say he surrendered without a fight.
And we are learning a little bit more about him, such as the fact that he was a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience at the University of Colorado. We're told he was actually in the process of withdrawing from the school.
This afternoon, federal agents are gingerly, gingerly trying to enter Holmes apartment after he allegedly told police there were sophisticated explosive devices inside. The police chief just said it could be additional hours, it could be additional days because there are booby traps, very sophisticated devices in and around this particular apartment.
Colorado's governor calls the shooting an act of depravity. His words. President Obama spoke about this at a campaign appearance earlier today in Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And if there's anything to take away from this tragedy it's the reminder that life is very fragile. Our time here is limited and it is precious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The president cancelled a second campaign stop to return to Washington today.
Joining me now on the phone is CNN producer Frankie Cervantes. She is outside of the suspect's apartment for us in Aurora.
And, Frankie, tell me what you're seeing. We just heard from the police chief in Aurora, Chief Dan Oates, saying that this apartment definitely is booby trapped. What are you seeing right now?
FRANKIE CERVANTES, CNN PRODUCER (via telephone): What I've just witnessed is on the other side -- all morning they've been working on the southeast side or southwest side of the building. And what I witnessed now is that they broke into the third floor window. And the officers moved very slowly up the ladder. One person did go in very slowly and then another person after them. They did come out of the building fairly quickly. They didn't spend a whole lot of time in there. But the scene continues to be active around here.
BALDWIN: Let me just go back to my notes from the Aurora police chief. He said the apartment is booby trapped with various incendiary devices, trip wires. His phraseology was, this is an active and difficult scene and that it could take hours, Frankie, if not days to, you know, finish this. Is that what you're hearing?
CERVANTES: Absolutely. And when you mentioned days, the port-a- potties have just arrived. So the officers here are prepared. I have heard that there's over 100 responders here. And they're continuing to come. Another fire truck just have arrived. I don't know if they are relieving some others, but there are now four fire trucks. I mean there were just three before on this street.
BALDWIN: When -- and I'm looking at these pictures here of members of, I'm sure, local police, FBI, ATF, all part of these sort of bomb squads trying to get inside. Have you heard any explosions? Do you know if they've tripped any of these wires? Do you know what they've seen once they've been inside?
CERVANTES: I'm fairly close to the building and I -- I'm not too sure what they've seen inside. But whatever they are doing, they are definitely taking their time.
BALDWIN: As they should. As this is a very dangerous and precarious situation.
Frankie Cervantes, thank you. And we'll check back in with you as soon as you get another update. I know we're also talking in the show with someone who lives across the street and she and her little ones are evacuated as this could very likely, with the arrival of the port- a-potties, take many days for them to get inside.
As we mentioned, 12 people died inside the theater just after midnight Mountain Time. And like the other victims, there is a woman, a young woman by the name of Jessica Ghawi. She leaves behind loved ones, memories and heartbreak. But she also left behind a perspective that is extraordinary in a situation that is already unfathomable. We're going to explain that in just a moment.
Jessica, an aspiring sports broadcaster, went by the name of Jessica Redfield on air. That is also the name, if you've caught her Twitter profile. I was watching her tweets -- I should say her last tweet was a number of hours ago. She tweeted late last night about a -- with a friend about her excitement for grabbing one of these, you know, highly sought after tickets. A ticket to this movie, "The Dark Knight Rises." And so I just want to read sort of this exchange on Twitter.
She says, "you aren't seeing it tonight?" And the friend tweets back, "nope." Jessica tweets back jokingly, "loser." The reply, "which is why you're tweeting now and not at the movie." And then her reply, which would become the final tweet for Jessica Ghawi, she said, "movie doesn't start for 20 minutes." And that's it. So sometime after the shooting, her brother, Jordan, posted on his blog that he was actually able to speak with Jessica's friend, Brent Loick , who was with Jessica at the movie last night.
So Jordan has been blogging. You can read his blog. And he writes, "shots were fired. Brent and Jessica immediately dropped to a prone position for cover. Jessica advised multiple times for someone to calm 911, which Brent immediately attempted to do. Brent then heard Jessica scream and notice that she was struck by a round in her leg. Brent began holding pressure on the wound and attempted to calm Jessica. It was at this time that Brent took a round to his lower extremities." He goes on, "while still administering first aid, Brent noticed that Jessica was no longer screaming. He advised that he looked over to Jessica and saw what appeared to be an entry wound to her head."
Jessica Ghawi was 24 years old. Her friend, Peter Burns , who worked with her at a local sports radio station, describes Jessica as a vibrant young woman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My girlfriend and I, she gave us a call and said, hey, can I have dinner with you. I've got an idea. And I said, sure, absolutely. It was always something she wanted to get involved in. And I said, OK, well 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 these 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: We're going to be speaking with Peter next hour about the one wish Jessica's mother now has moving forward. He has spoken with her.
We have also learned this about her short life. This was the second mass shooting that Jessica had been a part of in little more than a month. She happened to be at Eaton Mall in Toronto when a gunman opened fire, killing one person, injuring seven. That was back in early June. Ghawi -- forgive me, it's Ghawi -- wasn't harmed but blogged about it afterward.
She blogged, quote, "I can't get this odd feeling out of my chest. This empty, almost sickening feeling won't go away. I noticed this feeling when I was in the Eaton center in Toronto just seconds before someone opened fire in the food court. An odd feeling which led me to go outside and unknowingly out of harms way. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around how a weird feeling saved me from being in the middle of a deadly shooting."
She ends by saying that a feeling reminded her of how blessed she was. Quote, "I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing." Oh, this is tough. "So often I have found myself taking it for granted. Every hug from a family member. Every laughs we share with friends. Even the times of solitude are all blessings. Every second of every day is a gift. After Saturday evening, I know I truly understand how blessed I am for each second I am given."
Jessica Ghawi was just 24 years old. One of the 12 killed early this morning in Aurora, Colorado.
We are hearing some terrifying stories as to what it felt like inside theater nine last night after midnight as this gunman, this 24- year-old, shot after shots. Coming up next, we're going to speak with a man who not only saw this gunman up close. He says he saw something else. Perhaps someone else acting very unusual.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER SEEGER, WITNESS: And when he came in, I just thought he was some kind of, you know, prop or some kind of theatrical guy. I didn't think he was like a bad guy or anything. And he let off a canister of gas and it exploded. And then -- and everybody thought it was just a prop. Then he shot up in the air and everybody started to panic at that point. When he went straight from the air, he came down with his gun in my face. He was about three feet away from me at that point. In that instant, I honestly didn't know what to do. I was terrified.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I want to talk a little bit more here about this young man. The suspected shooter, 24-year-old James Holmes. Investigators say he was carrying these weapons -- a shotgun, an AR-15 assault rifle and two handguns.
And another picture for you. Look at this. This is Holmes in high school. This was his high school yearbook photo. Before this, his only brush with the law, according to the police chief there in Aurora, a traffic ticket last year.
Authorities say he was wearing a gas mask and body armor from head to toe during the attack. Police arrested him inside the theater. He didn't resist. Didn't put up a fight. At this time the evidence indicates he was acting alone. He is scheduled to be in court on Monday.
Holmes' family lives in California. They released this statement. Quote, "our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the family and friends of those involved. We ask that the media respect our privacy during this difficult time. Our family is cooperating with authorities in both San Diego, California, and Aurora, Colorado. We are still trying to process this information and we appreciate that people will respect our privacy."
Well, 12 other people here, however, died and another 59 were wounded when the gunman opened fire inside that movie theater just after midnight. And the gunman, 24-year-old -- the suspected gunman, 24-year-old James Holmes was arrested on the scene.
And we have another person who was actually inside the theater joining me now on the phone. He's Corbin Dates. He witnessed the shooting with his very best friend.
So, Corbin, I just thank you for calling in and I'm glad you're OK. If you can, take me back to midnight. You're in the theater. You're excited to see this movie. You prepaid for tickets. What happened?
Corbin, this is Brooke at CNN. Can you hear me?
CORBIN DATES, WITNESS TO SHOOTING (via telephone): Yes. Hello.
BALDWIN: Hi. This is -- you're on the air. Just -- my first question is, take me back to after midnight and you're in this theater with your best friend.
DATES: I'm sorry, it's really hard for me to hear you with all the helicopters going around. I'm so sorry.
BALDWIN: OK, I'm going to try to speak up. Can you hear me now, Corbin?
DATES: I can hear you a lot better.
BALDWIN: OK. Let's try -- let's try again. Just tell me what you saw in that movie theater last night. What happened?
DATES: That's right. It was supposed to be only just a fun night with me -- with my friends. A good friend and I. I went into the theater, grabbed a seat, which ended up to be -- I was sitting in the second row, probably four seats away from the right aisle where people usually enter from. Another guy walked in after me, sat in front of me in the front row, probably to the far right seat. And I noticed he got a phone call. Most people when they get phone calls, they would take it out into the lobby. But this person directly went to the emergency exit.
And on the phone the entire time. He was propping the door open with his foot. And he was -- it looked like he was directing somebody to come towards his direction. And I didn't think anything of it at first, but after a while, once the movie started and my friend and I got situated, about 15, 20 minutes into the film, that back -- the back emergency door swung right open. (INAUDIBLE) walked into the theater, probably 5'8", 5'9" wearing all black. And he was wearing a gas mask, all suited up in armor. It had a (INAUDIBLE) around -- around his neck and he threw a canister into the audience behind me. And come to find out, once it exploded, it was a type of -- it was a toxic gas. I wasn't too sure if it was tear gas, but, either way, it was really hard to breath in. immediately I went to the floor after it exploded and then gunshots started taking place into the auditorium.
BALDWIN: Corbin, let me interrupt you. I hope you can hear me. I know it sounds like there's a lot of wind, a lot going on where you are.
But you mentioned somebody sitting in the far right seat in the theatre, the person on the phone, goes to take the call at the exit door. Did they have the same build as the gunman? What are you saying? You think these are two different people or the same person?
DATES: I'm sorry, one more time.
BALDWIN: So this person who you see on the phone goes to the exit door to take this phone call. The next thing you know this gunman comes in. Are these two different people?
DATES: Yes the person inside of the theatre. He went towards the emergency exit on a phone call and looked like he was directing for somebody to come -- 15 to 20 minutes the door swung right open and the guy came inside and threw a gas canister into the audience and started opening fire.
BALDWIN: Corbin, I'm going to keep this conversation going even though it's tough for you to hear me and vice versa, but this is so important.
Do you remember what part of the movie was playing when this guy walks in head to toe armor and a gas mask? Do you remember what scene was playing?
DATES: The part of the movie that it happened was after Bruce Wayne was getting robbed by Catwoman. Then the movie was still playing for probably about 10, 15 minutes more.
I'll say 10 minutes and the movie shut off and the lights inside were still dark. It was kind of hard to see where the guy was. It made things difficult to try to make our way out.
BALDWIN: Did he scream anything? Was he shouting anything or was it all quiet?
DATES: He didn't shout anything. He didn't say anything. He didn't make any gesture. He was completely quiet.
BALDWIN: He was completely quiet. Did you understand -- I mean, did you think -- a lot of people thought this was part of the movie, the gas. Obviously, you realized quickly when you start seeing people hitting the ground that this is very, very real. How did you get out of the theatre?
DATES: As soon as the gas canister went off, I immediately went to the ground and I started to crawl my way out. I was crawling through the second row to get to the other side.
I could feel the shells of the bullets that were coming out of the rifle hitting the ground coming up under the seat and burning me in the leg. I could feel it.
BALDWIN: How are you now physically?
DATES: I'm doing a lot better now. I'm definitely not going to recover from this overnight. It will take some time. Probably somebody to help me understand what just happened.
BALDWIN: We just heard the news conference. They are making folks available as this is not something you pop back from. This is a horrendous, horrendous experience for people to have to deal with.
Final question, it's been 12 hours, what's the one thing, if you close your eyes, the one thing that you keep seeing over and over and over? DATES: The first thing I think I keep seeing over and over is the first moment that guy walked in. The second moment I hear is just gunshots and people screaming in the audience. That's what I keep hearing over and seeing over and over again.
BALDWIN: Corbin Dates, we wish you well. We're glad you're OK. I know you're friend is OK. We're all thinking and praying about everyone inside that movie theatre. Corbin, thank you.
President Obama thinking, of course, of the victims as well. He actually cut short his campaign today. He's campaigning in Florida. Because of this shooting in Colorado, we now know he's back in Washington where in about 15 minutes he will be in the oval office.
And many people will be wondering whether he will actually head to Colorado himself. He was there just recently because of the wildfires. He may be making a return trip. We're going to check in at the White House to find out what his schedule is.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After all the shooting was done, I looked up for a brief second. I saw him reloading and walking towards the back of the theatre and it arches up.
I just he was walking back there and I grabbed my girlfriend and my friend said we got to get going. He's reloading now. Here's our chance. Leaving, I saw a guy just laying on the floor. He was covered in blood.
A lot of people ran to help him when the guy was reloading his weapon. We just left and the bunch of people left at that time. It was just crazy.
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BALDWIN: Back to our breaking news, big question. Who is this guy? Who is James Holmes and what in the world could have driven him to slaughter a dozen people inside a movie theatre?
CNN contributor, Tom Fuentes is a former assistant director of the FBI. Tom, good to see you.
TOM FUENTES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Help me sketch out a profile here of this 24-year-old. I mean, he's this -- apparently, he was in the process of withdrawing from, you know, University of Colorado from a PhD in neuroscience. Does that fit the profile of a mass shooter?
FUENTES: Well, I think the perception many people have is that somebody that has psychopathic or some type of mental illness tendencies to commit a mass murder somehow can't be smart at the same time. I think the fact that he was in a PhD program obviously he has some level of intelligence, but apparently a very disturbed mind.
BALDWIN: With that level of intelligence, a high level of intelligence, is that surprising?
FUENTES: Not necessarily by itself. You have many mass murders that were extremely intelligent throughout history. So I think that, you know, they're not mutually disclosed to be smart and homicidal at the same time.
BALDWIN: So we're learning, Tom, from our affiliate in San Diego, KNSD, this is a high school friend from Powey, which is a neighborhood in San Diego describes James as quote, "He was pretty shy, but once he got comfortable with you, he was the funniest, smartest guy."
Goes on, "He always had something witty to say." Witty to say, smart guy, quiet guy, does that conflict with the picture that's emerging here of this young man?
FUENTES: No, I don't think enough picture has emerged to rule that out. So it could easily be that he was that. He could be someone that had high expectations academically and career goals that somehow when he got into his studies maybe it wasn't going so well.
The reports that he was going to drop out, suddenly, he's facing failure and an uncertain future. This may have played on his mind as well the fact that he was about to fail.
BALDWIN: But why a movie theatre? Why that target?
FUENTES: Well, if you want to kill a lot of people in a quick period of time, you would look for someplace that are confined. You have a thousand people basically in a confined space like that.
And because movie theatres have to have fire exits out to the parking lot for quick exit in case of a disaster in the building, a fire or some other problem.
You would have the ability to come in through those doors, which apparently is what he appears to have done. So whether he propped open the door so it wouldn't close and lock.
When you attend peoples you see people go out those exits just out of convenience. There's a short walk to the parking lot when there's not supposed to do it.
So if a door doesn't close all the way or if someone goes out and props the door somehow so it doesn't fully lock then certainly they're going to have the ability to very easily come back into that theatre and have a thousand people locked up there.
BALDWIN: And final question to you, with that exit door, we know it goes outside. He had a car out there. Apparently, his demeanor described as calm, didn't even put up a fight with police. What do you read into that? FUENTES: I don't know. He could have been in some mental trance of some kind. We don't know enough about his mental condition to know exactly what he may have been thinking.
We may never know what he was thinking at the time he carried this out. But obviously, it was pretty planned. He dressed for it. He planned, obtained the weapons. This is not something that was a spur of the moment event.
BALDWIN: Well, as time passes, out of stories like these, of course, we're going to get much more on this young man and a bit of a profile. Tom Fuentes, former assistant director of the FBI, appreciate it.
FUENTES: You're welcome, Brooke.
BALDWIN: President Obama, he is back in Washington today. He was in Florida, spoke, and then cut his trip short to address the shooting in Colorado.
Minutes from now, we have now learned he's going to be brief on the shooting from top advisors back at the White House. He's also just issued a proclamation. We're going to tell you about that, next.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- never know fully what causes somebody to take the life of another. We do know what makes life worth living. The people we lost in Aurora loved and they were loved.
They were mothers and fathers. They were husbands and wives, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, friends and neighbors. They had hopes for the future and they had dreams that were not yet fulfilled. The reminder that life is very fragile.
Our time here is limited and it is precious. What matters at the end of the day is not the small things. It's not the trivial things, which so often consume us and our daily lives.
Ultimately, it's how we choose to treat one another and how we love one another. Michelle and I will be fortunate enough to hug our girls a little tighter tonight.
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: That was the president this morning speaking in Fort Myers. Day two of a swing through the battleground state of Florida. He's actually had other stops on the docket. He decided to cut his trip short to Florida back at the White House this hour. He's actually right now meeting with top advisors in the oval office.
I want to bring in White House Brianna Keilar. Brianna, tell us who is he meeting with.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He's meeting with a number of people including Vice President Biden, Brooke. He's also meeting with the head of the FBI and his top Counterterrorism and Homeland Security advisor, John Brennan, who is the one that delivered the news to him this morning at 5:26 a.m. of this shooting in Colorado.
He came back basically got off of the Marine One on the south lawn and went right into the oval office to have a meeting about this shooting.
Meantime, the White House just issued a presidential proclamation ordering all of flags, Brooke, to be flown -- U.S. flags here at the White House as well as public buildings everywhere, naval vessels to be taken down to half staff.
But it's really interesting because this has change, you know, what had you would have seen today. We would have seen President Obama and Mitt Romney just slamming each other out on the campaign trail.
Instead they both delivered these really sombre remarks. You know, we saw Vice President Biden and Michelle Obama cancel their campaign events as well.
BALDWIN: Speaking of slamming one another as it is an election year. We know those nasty ads that are out. I understand some of those political ads have been pulled out of respect to this tragedy in Aurora, yes?
KEILAR: In Colorado, all of them have been pulled both by the Obama campaign and the Romney campaign. And not only that because you know "Super PACs" are spending millions of dollars on ads, the leading conservative "Super PAC" and the leading liberal "Super PAC" have also pulled their ads in Colorado.
Why, of course, because the vast majority of them, if not all of them, Brooke, are very negative. What you could say are attack ads and it really is not kind of the tone that either campaign wants to be seen as putting out there at a time like this.
BALDWIN: Brianna Keilar at the White House. Brianna, thank you.
Also Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke about the tragedy. This afternoon, he spoke from New Hampshire. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can mourn with those who mourn in Colorado. This morning, Colorado lost youthful voices, which would have brightened their homes, enriched their schools and brought joy to their families.
We do know how evil is overcome. We're seeing that greater power today in the goodness and compassion of a wounded community. Grieving and worried families in Aurora are surrounded with love today and not just by those who are with them and holding them in their arms.
They can also know they are being lifted up in prayer by people in every part of our great nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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BALDWIN: Within this past hour, we have now heard from the police chief in Aurora releasing new details on that horrendous shooting inside that Aurora, Colorado movie theatre after midnight.
The suspect gunman, here he is, 24-year-old James Egan Holmes, suspected of killing 12 people and wounding 59 inside that movie theatre. This happened during the premier of Batman "Dark Knight Rises."
I want to bring in our entertainment correspondent, Kareen Wynter, because I know Hollywood is reacting. There's also reaction globally. So I just want to begin with Warner Brothers. What is Warner Brothers doing as a result of this?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: They are absolutely shocked and saddened over the events that have unfolded, Brooke. You think about what was supposed to be an entertaining event, right? People flocking to the movie theatre for some sort of escape, it's turned into an incredible tragedy.
Batman fans across the country couldn't wait for the release of the "Dark Knight Rises." They were lining up for midnight screenings, wanting to be among the first to see the movie.
To give you a sense of the anticipation for the film while the movie brought in $27 million overnight. Analysts were predicting the film would be the biggest opening ever, Brooke, for a 2D movie.
Now the focus is not on the hype surrounding this expected summer blockbuster, but on this tragedy that's unfolded in Colorado. Now to that statement from Warner Brothers which is part of CNN's parent company, Time Warner.
"In regards to the shooting, Warner Brothers and the film makers are deeply saddened to learn about the shocking incident. We extend our sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time."
Additionally, Brooke, the studio has cancelled a Paris premier and press interviews that were scheduled for tonight and law enforcement officials in New York and D.C. also here in Los Angeles.
They have announced plans to step up and monitor movie theatres really across the country in light of what's happened here.
BALDWIN: OK, so if people want to see this movie. If they want to go out and see it over the weekend, they can, but expect an increase presence in police, et cetera.
What about -- there's this whole other angle of this story. There was trailer. It was from the movie "Gangster Squad." It shows something similar to what played out in Aurora last night.
WYNTER: Let me tell you, Brooke. I watched it. It's a trailer about 2 minutes in length and it definitely hits close to home. In fact, the spokesperson for Warner Brothers Studio confirmed to CNN that they've pulled the trailer for the upcoming movie.
It's called "Gangster Squad." That was running in previous ahead of the "Dark Knight Rises." "Gangster Squad," it chronicles a fight between the Los Angeles police and the mafia.
It takes place in the 1940s and '50s. It features a group of men attacking a crowded theatre with machine guns, Brooke. Again, this trailer has been pulled and we don't know whether it aired specifically at the screening where the shooting took place.
But again, you can understand the sensitive there and they've yanked it. I also want to tell you, Brooke and this is the first time we're hearing from any of the actors in the film.
We just got a statement from Gary Oldman. He plays Commissioner Gordon in the "Dark Knight Rises." His statement, "My prayers and deepest sympathies are with the victims and their families of this horrific act -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Kareen Wynter from Los Angeles. Kareen, we appreciate it.
Booby trapped with possible bombs, other harmful incendiary devices police. Look at the pictures of very, very carefully entering the suspect's apartment here in this building in Aurora, Colorado.
We're going to talk with a woman who lives just across the street who has been evacuated along with so many other families. What's the deal now? We'll find out.
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BALDWIN (voice-over): Nightmare at theatre nine. A gun man opens fire on a terrified audience in Colorado with the midnight premiere of the "Dark Knight Rises."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody kicked in the emergency exit and started throwing gas grenades and starting shooting people at random.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nowhere on the right side of us, we just hear a distinct pop, pop, pop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There were people just running around.
BALDWIN: Those who got out alive described the horror inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just chaos. There was this girl spitting up blood. There were bullet holes in some people's backs and arms.
