Saturday, July 21, 2012

Dark Knight Rises Tragedy: The Alleged Shooter's Apartment, New Info on Victims - E! Online

Dark Knight Colorado ShootingsThomas Cooper/Getty Images

Following the tragic shooting at a Dark Knight Rises screening in Colorado Friday night, more information is surfacing regarding the victims of the attack and the alleged killer's booby-trapped apartment.

Bomb experts and law-enforcement authorities began a dangerous operation to enter James Holmes' apartment Saturday morning, attempting to defuse various complicated incendiary devices inside that were "set up to kill," police said.

MORE: Dark Knight Rises Tragedy: Will the Aurora Massacre Forever Mar the Batman Legacy?

According to a statement released by the Aurora Police Department Saturday, their goal was to get past a tripwire rigged to set off a device, and remove about 30 devices and an additional 30 aerial shells from the residence.

Sgt. Cassidee Carlson later said in a press conference the bomb squad was "successful in defeating the first threat"â€"the tripwire and the first incendiary deviceâ€"and that "the tripwire was set up to kill the person that entered the apartment."

Carlson said they were "dealing with some serious stuff inside," adding there were other devices in Holmes' apartment, but wouldn't elaborate on the nature of those devices.

The bomb squad also initiated a controlled detonation of another triggering mechanism inside of the apartment, which was also successful. 

MORE: Latest Dark Knight Rises Fallout: Movie Ads Yanked, Costumes Banned After Colorado Shooting

Police later said all "major threats were eliminated" from the apartment.

"This was definitely designed as a kill zone for first responders," a law enforcement official told the Los Angeles Times. "We presume that he didn't know whether he would be killed by law enforcement at the scene of the movie theater...he tried to lure people in here as a backup to his life, which he assumed would be ended by police."

Meanwhile, details regarding the conditions of some of the victims of the attack are being released. 

In a press conference Saturday, Dr. Bob Snyder of the Aurora Medical Center said seven patients from the shooting are currently in the medical center, ranging in age from 16 years old to 31 years old. 

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The patients' injuries range from head to chest to belly to arms and legs, and some have multiple gunshots. 

"[All patients are doing] fairly well, it was a relatively quiet night," Snyder said in a press conference Saturday.

At Children's Hospital Colorado, two adult patients were also still being treated. One was upgraded from critical to serious condition, while the other adult patient is still in fair condition, according to a statement from the hospital Saturday.

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