Several city and state officials gathered at a press conference today in Aurora, Colorado. Aurora Chief of Police Dan Oates provided an update of the investigation of the shooting in an Aurora movie theater last night that left twelve dead.
According to Oates, approximately 25 officers arrived on the scene a minute and a half to two minutes after receiving a 9-1-1 call about the events. The police department received what one officer described as “hundreds of calls” to notify them of the situation, and approximately 200 officers responded to the location of the shootings.
Oates confirmed that 71 individuals were shot. Twelve of the victims died, ten in the theater and two at local hospitals. Several wounded victims are in critical condition, he said.
The suspect, 24-year-old James Eagen Holmes surrendered to the police in the back of the theater without incident. Holmes was apprehended with three weapons in his car and one left in the theater. The weapons included an assault rifle, a shotgun, and a handgun. Police do not know yet the legal status of Holmes’s weapons.
Oates said that Holmes’s home is at 1690 Paris St. in Aurora, and that it is “booby-trapped with various trip wars and incendiary devices.” Oates said the situation at the apartment may take hours or days to resolve, and that five buildings in the surrounding area have been evacuated.
Police do not yet know the shooter’s motives.
Aurora mayor, Steve Hogan spoke prior to Oates.
“We’ve taken a blow today, but we will get back on our feet, and we will move ahead," Hogan said. "If I can say anything to our citizens, and particularly to those folks who have kids, is 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 civic officials. We’ve got to talk to our kids and let them know this is an isolated incident. It’s tragic; it’s horrible, but it’s isolated. We’ve got to talk about it.”
City officials will provide another update at 7 p.m. MST this evening.
Watch here for the full press conferece.
Let us know in the comments section how these events effect public safety in South San Francisco.
Like South San Francisco Patch on Facebook | Sign up for the South San Francisco Patch daily newsletter | Blog for South San Francisco Patch
