Post date: Jul 20, 2012 4:45:10 PM
AURORA, COLORADO, UNITED STATES (JULY 20, 2012) (NBC) - The apartment of the man suspected in the mass shooting at a Denver-area screening of the latest Batman movie is "booby-trapped" with an array of sophisticated material, the local police chief said Friday (July 20).
Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates says the suspected shooter's apartment is "booby trapped" and that law enforcement may be at the scene for "hours or days."
Speaking at the scene where police were working to gain access to the apartment, Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates said: "His apartment is apparently booby trapped. And what we have is a whole bunch of bomb techs from all different agencies, we have pictures inside the location, and we are trying to determine how to disarm the flammable or explosive material that is in there. So that is why we are here.
We could be here for hours, we could be here for days, trying to figure out how to get in there. Obviously we are very concerned about getting in there to get whatever evidence there is. But the the pictures are pretty disturbing, it looks pretty sophisticated on how it's booby-trapped. So that is why we are here. We evacuated, we consulted the experts, we evacuated five buildings total and we believe that is a sufficient evacuation for what we see inside. But beyond that, this could be a very long wait. We don't know how long we are going to be here."
The gunman in a gas mask and bullet-proof vest killed at least 12 people at a midnight premiere of the new Batman movie in a suburb of Denver early on Friday. Some 55 others, including children, were hurt in the attack on the showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" at a mall in the suburb of Aurora.
Police took the suspect into custody in the parking lot behind the theater, Oates told a news conference.