Police radio transmissions from Aurora, Colorado, depict the shooting tragedy as it unfolded early Friday morning. The audio is used under a creative common license from Radioreference.com
The following are some of the transmissions, and I caution you that the audio is very disturbing to hear, if you choose to listen, there are graphic descriptions of the scene inside the theater. The dispatcher who handled these calls deserves some sort of award for keeping it together, as do the rescue workers.
"They're saying somebody's shooting in the auditorium."
"They're saying there's just hundreds of people running around."
"Somebody's spraying gas in there, too."
"Need more officers inside theater nine."
"We got another person outside shot in the leg, a female. I got people running out of the theater ..."
"We need gas masks."
"I'm being told that he's in theater nine."
"Get out some damn gas masks for theater nine. We can't get in it."
"I need at least three or four ambulances brought in here."
"We need rescue inside the auditorium. Multiple victims."
"Notify all the hospitals. We have people coming in."
"Everybody inside: realize that behind the screens, those are open ... so you need to check behind those screens also."
The Victims
Ten people were killed inside the Aurora theater while two others died at area hospitals. By Friday night, the bodies were removed from the theater and authorities started "the agonizing process" of notifying families, according to Police Chief Dan Oates.
The youngest of the injured, a 4-month-old boy, was treated and released from a hospital, the child's mother said.
As of Friday, 30 people remained hospitalized, 11 of them in critical condition, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said.
The wounded were being treated at five medical centers. Hospitals gave these accounts Friday afternoon:
-- University of Colorado Hospital had 23 patients, nine remaining in critical condition. Ten patients were treated and released.
-- Denver Health Medical Center received six patients. Three remained in fair condition and three were released. A patient was transported to the hospital later and was in fair condition.
-- Children's Hospital Colorado said it had six injured, ranging from critical to good condition. One patient had passed away.
-- Swedish Medical Center had three patients in fair condition. A 19-year-old man was treated and released.
-- Parker Adventist Hospital treated and released two patients.
Friday evening, the names of only two people who were killed were confirmed by CBS4. One was a male named Alex Sullivan, 27, of Aurora, and another was a Metro State University of Denver named Jessica Ghawi.
The U.S. Department of Defense says three members of the U.S. Armed Forces were wounded in a movie theater shooting in Colorado and one is unaccounted for.
The agency says a Navy sailor was injured and a male sailor who was at the theater early Friday morning cannot be located. The sailors are part of a Navy Cyber Command unit at Buckley Air Force base in Aurora.
Two Air Force airmen based at Buckley were also wounded, but their specific unit hasn’t been released.
The names of the deceased are expected to be released after their families have been officially notified by authorities.
Classmates: Holmes Was a ‘Loner’
Students at the University of Colorado Denver’s campus in Aurora are describing accused killer James Holmes as “quiet” and “a loner.” Holmes, a Ph.D. student who was studying neuroscience, is suspected of killing 12 and injuring dozens more at a screening of the latest Batman installment, The Dark Knight Rises. His high-school lab partner told reporters he was “a smart kid,” adding, “I never figured he'd do anything like this.” Neighbors in his university-managed building described him as unfriendly and quiet.
Police to Detonate Holmes’ Bombs
The apartment of James Holmes, 24-year-old suspected of killing 12 people in Colorado, is so extensively booby-trapped with explosive devices that police cannot safely defuse them. The solution: A robot. Police plan to send a robot into to detonate the devices sometime on Friday night, Reuters reports. The apartment building--as well as nearby buildings--have already been evacuated to prep for the blast, which is expected to be small in size. Holmes was arrested Friday for allegedly opening fire on an audience attending a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colo., killing 12 and injuring over 50 others.
Suspect Purchased 6,000 Rounds Of Ammunition Online
Aurora, Colorado shooting suspect James Holmes purchased 6,000 rounds of ammunition, and four guns online in the weeks leading up to the tragedy that has claimed a dozen lives and left over 50 others injured at a movie theater within a shopping mall outside Denver. The guns included an AR-15 "assault rifle," a Remington 12-gauge shotgun, and .40 Glock handgun, that were found inside the theater, and another .40 caliber Glock handgun was found in the car. Police were not certain on Friday if that gun had been used in the shooting.
At a news conference on Friday night, Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said, "My understanding is all weapons he possessed, he possessed legally. All ammunition he possessed, he possessed legally."
Oates said 3,000 rounds were .223-caliber bullets for the AR-15. The chief said he didn't know where Holmes obtained the full suit of body armor and gas mask he was wearing when arrested. A drum-style magazine for an AR-15 assault rifle was also recovered at the movie theater. With the 100-round magazine, "he could have gotten off 50 to 60 rounds -- even if it was a semi-automatic -- within one minute," Oates said.
Developing...
Earlier breaking report here.
