Holmes Plotted Colo. Massacre for 4 Months

Bomb experts defuse traps in apartment
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 22, 2012 6:07 AM CDT
Holmes Plotted Colo. Massacre for 4 Months
Investigators remove computer equipment as evidence from the apartment of alleged gunman James Holmes, yesterday in Aurora, Colo.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

James Holmes began receiving "a high volume of deliveries" of weapons and ammunition at his home and work beginning at least four months ago, indicating that the man behind Thursday night's massacre in Aurora, Colo., had been plotting his massacre even longer than police originally thought, reports Reuters. "What we're seeing here is evidence of some calculation and deliberation," says Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates.

Police are also beginning to reveal the elaborate traps Holmes arranged at his apartment—two trip wires at the front door; 30 shells filled with gunpowder, wired to a central control box in the kitchen; two jars containing "incendiary liquids" to fuel a fire after the initial explosion; and, an unspecified number of bullets that were to ricochet around the room once the explosion went off. Police said that if the traps had detonated as designed, the explosion "would have destroyed that apartment complex." Yesterday afternoon, bomb experts were able to cut the trip wires and disable the explosives. (More James Holmes stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X