Cops have begun gathering evidence at the home of the Colorado shooting suspect — after spending hours disarming several “sophisticated” explosives that could have killed whomever tried to enter the apartment, officials said.
The bomb squad has just about finished clearing major threats inside the 800-square-foot apartment, including about 30 softball-sized explosives at 1690 Paris St. in suburban Aurora. The department said it cleared all threats by 7:38 p.m.
“An extensive amount of evidence is in the process of being collected and we will bring this portion of the investigation to a close and allow families back in their home probably by tomorrow., said FBI special agent-in-charge Jim Yacone, who led the disarming efforts.
“It was certainly a sophisticated device,” he added.
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Aurora police Chief Dan Oates said Saturday’s investigation has revealed a great deal of premeditation on the part of accused shooter James Eagan Holmes, 24, who allegedly opened fire inside a premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises” — killing 12 people and injuring another 58.
“We’ve become aware that our suspect, over the last four months, had a high-value of commercial deliveries of packages to both his home and school addresses,” Oates said. “We think that begins to explain how he got his hands on all the magazines and ammunition. It also begins to explain some of the [explosive] materials that he had in his apartment.”
Cops and firefighters on Saturady first sent in a remote-controlled robot to scope out how traps were set up in the third-floor apartment, which sits just 4 miles from the theater complex where Holmes allegedly went on a shooting rampage.
Inside, authorities found about 30 devices and another 30 aerial shells, which are to be taken by sand trucks to be burned or destroyed in a disposal area.
Bomb experts used a robot to drop a water bottle device inside the apartment and disable one trip device set up to explode once someone walked into the apartment.
“It was an extremely dangerous environment,” Yacone said. “If a neighbor or an unassuming pedestrian or first responder had walked in that door, they would have sustained significant injuries or lost their lives.”
Cops and firefighters running the operation first set off a small, controlled detonation in the apartment about 1:45 p.m.
Alleged massacre madman James Holmes (
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Someone yelled “fire in the hole” a few times and then a fire engine horn honked. Then there was a pause of a few seconds and then a bang that was not much louder than a shotgun going off.
There was no fire or smoke, but it did blow out what remained of the window and its frame to Holmes’ apartment.
“It was a very slow and methodical effort to preserve evidence in each phase of the investigation,” Yacone said. “This was certainly challenging for all involved.”
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Residents in Holmes’ building and four adjacent residential complexes were first evacuated on Friday when authorities began investigating the massacre in Aurora — the worst shooting rampage in US history.
They were allowed to return this evening, after the last threat was cleared from the apartment.
Holmes allegedly burst into a showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” in full body armor, filled the theater with tear gas and opened fire into the packed theater.
Cops found him standing by his white Hyundai outside the theater with the murder weapons — an AR-15 assault rifle, a Remington 12-gauge shotgun and a .40-caliber Glock handgun.
Holmes made no attempt to flee and was arrested without incident.
The accused killer — a dropout of the University of Colorado at Denver’s neurosciences Ph.D. program — laughed maniacally at cops like Batman’s archenemy and declared, “I am the Joker,” sources said.
Among the dead are a Navy cyber technician, a 6-year-old girl, a sportscaster who narrowly missed a June 2 bloodbath and a Batman fanatic who turned 27 the night of the premiere.
At first, about 30 of Holmes’ neighbors were evacuated to a makeshift shelter at the Aurora Central High School gym to escape the heat and feed their children while authorities investigated the booby-trapped apartment, Red Cross spokeswoman Melinda Epp said.
A bus load of about 20 additional evacuees were transported to the shelter early Saturday afternoon when power was shut off from a nearby building during the operation.
It was unclear how many people planned to spend the night there.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper praised the “incredible” work done by rescuers and investigators in the wake of Friday’s tragedy.
“Despite this one unspeakably troubled individual, there are so many others that are doing what’s right,” he told reporters. “There’s no way we can turn the clock back. There’s no way we can reverse what has happened.
“But we can take this abhorrent, inconceivable event and do everything we can to make it better.”
Holmes is expected at his first court appearance on Monday.