Police Sending a Robot to Detonate Explosives at Colorado Shooting Suspect’s Home

Police Sending a Robot to Detonate Explosives at Colorado Shooting Suspect's Home

Police investigating the Colorado shooting rampage prepared on Saturday to send in a robot to detonate what they called a sophisticated booby-trap in the apartment of a man accused of killing 12 people at a screening of the new "Batman" film.

James Eagan Holmes, 24, is accused of storming into a theater in a suburban Denver multiplex just after midnight on Friday clad head-to-toe in black body armor and a gas mask and tossing smoke bombs into the audience before shooting seemingly at random.

The graduate student, who authorities said had dyed his hair red and called himself "The Joker" in a reference to Batman's comic-book nemesis, was taken into custody outside the theater minutes after the attack.

Police later found stocks of explosives at his home following his arrest after the shooting at a showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora and have been unable to enter.

The carnage stunned Aurora and the world, evoking memories of the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, 17 miles from Aurora, where two students opened fire and killed 12 students and a teacher.

It also resonated in the U.S. presidential race as both President Barack Obama and his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, toned down their campaigns, pulled their ads from Colorado and dedicated their scheduled events to the victims on Friday.

Chris Henderson, Aurora's deputy fire chief, said Holmes' living room was found crisscrossed with trip wires connected to what appeared to be plastic bottles containing an unknown liquid.

A law enforcement source told Reuters the suspect had also set a timer to turn on loud music in his apartment - playing the same song over and over again - apparently in an attempt to prompt a complaint and lure police into a trap.

"If he was shot and killed, it is without a doubt that these ... booby traps were there to murder and inflict casualties upon first responders," the source said.

Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said authorities had determined that the apartment was too dangerous for officers to enter and would send a robot in on Saturday to detonate the explosives after consulting with federal authorities.

Posted by James Fried on Monday July 23 2012, 4:52 AM EST. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Nation. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0