Aurora theater shooting: James Holmes's apartment is booby-trapped, police chief says

"His apartment is apparently booby-trapped." Those were the words of Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates moments ago as he briefed the press about the apartment of James Holmes, 24, the shooter at the The Dark Knight Rises premiere at Century Aurora 16 early this morning. Holmes, who is in police...

By Nick Lucchesi

July 20, 2012

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

"His apartment is apparently booby-trapped."

Those were the words of Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates moments ago as he briefed the press about the apartment of James Holmes, 24, the shooter at the The Dark Knight Rises premiere at Century Aurora 16 early this morning. Holmes, who is in police custody, lives at 17th Avenue and Peoria Street in Aurora in a third-floor apartment.

Five buildings around his have been evacuated and police and the FBI have photos from inside the unit.

"We are trying to determine how to disarm the flammable or explosive material that's in there," Oates said this morning. "We could be here for hours, we could be here for days. We are very concerned about getting in there.

"The pictures are pretty disturbing. It looks pretty disturbing how it's booby-trapped."

Update: Here are photos of the shooter, James Holmes, 24:

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.