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Tag: aurora shooter

  • Holmes: Online Ammo Purchase Preceded Massacre

    James Holmes, officials say, purchased 6,000 rounds of ammo online before he shot up a movie theater in Colorado last year.

    Officials have unsealed documents which show he received several deliveries from ammo companies in the weeks leading up to the shootings, as well as other packages; so many, in fact, that they were coming on almost a “daily basis”.

    Holmes, who has been charged with 166 offenses–including murder and attempted murder for the 12 people he killed and 58 who were wounded–has officially requested to change his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity.

    Holmes also purchased several weapons from nearby stores, and police have stressed that everything he bought, he bought legally.

    “Some versions of the AR-15 assault rifle that police said was one of three guns James Holmes carried into the movie theater massacre were outlawed for civilian sale under the federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. Since then, all versions have been legal for sale and possession in the U.S.,” writer Kurt Heine said. “The AR-15, widely distributed by more than two dozen manufacturers in a range of calibers, is a semi-automatic rifle that fires shots individually, with each pull of the trigger. Aftermarket parts available at sporting goods stores include magazines big enough to hold 90 bullets. AP reports Holmes’ gun was equipped with a high-capacity, drum-style magazine.”

  • James Holmes Hospitalized With Mysterious Condition

    James Holmes, the man who shot and killed 12 people and wounded 58 others in a Colorado movie theater this summer, was taken to the hospital on Tuesday with an unspecified condition, rendering him unable to attend his court date this week.

    Officials and Holmes’ attorney were vague as to any detail, saying only, “It’s not as simple as a migraine”.

    Holmes has been analyzed by court-appointed psychiatrists since the shooting in an attempt to figure out his mental and emotional state and whether or not he is fit to stand trial. Since being incarcerated, he has reportedly made several “half-hearted” attempts to kill himself–running into the wall of his cell, jumping off his bed–and some believe this hospitalization came after another attempt.

    Attorneys for Holmes have filed for a motion to delay his hearing, but prosecutors want answers before any such reprieve is given.

    “It is not clear whether it is claimed he is suffering from a physical medical condition, a mental condition, whether he is suffering from a negative emotional reaction to his circumstances, or anything other than he has some kind of ‘condition,’” prosecutors said.

    The accused gunman has exhibited strange behavior since he was taken into custody, staring wide-eyed into the camera for mugshots and sitting limply in the courtroom, staring into space. Officials say the shooting came after he failed several exams at school and wasn’t given a good referral for a doctorate program; after the theater shooting, police found his apartment booby-trapped and what they described as an “arsenal” of weapons, which he had laid aside in preparation for a mass killing.