Jennifer Seeger, who was inside the Aurora, Colo., movie theater where a gunman opened fire early Friday, describes the scene of the shooting as "mass chaos."
By NBC News' Pete Williams and NBC News staff
Updated at 12:24 p.m. ET: A black-clad gunman wearing a riot helmet and goggles opened fire on the audience at a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" near Denver on Friday, killing 12 people and wounding 38 others in a scene of "mass chaos," authorities and witnesses said..
The apartment?of the suspect,?identified as James Holmes, 24, had been?booby-trapped with what police described as sophisticated explosives or flammable materials, and?officers were trying to determine how to defuse them, Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates?said. The?area was evacuated, and?police were expected to remain?on the scene "for hours or days,"?he said.
University of Colorado
James Holmes, identified as the suspect in the Colorado shootings, in a photo from the University of Colorado.
Oates initially said 14 people had been killed, but the figure was later revised to 12.
Holmes,?a former?graduate student in the?neuroscience program?at University of Colorado?medical school,?put up no resistance when he?was arrested in a parking lot at the theater, police said. They?said there was no evidence of other suspects.
"We're pretty confident he acted alone," Officer Frank Fania told TODAY.
The victims, who were being treated in at least six hospitals, included a 6-year-old. A 4-month-old baby also was treated and released.?The oldest reported patient is 45.
Defense officials told NBC News that two Air Force reservists and a Navy service member were among those shot. Their identities and conditions weren't available, but defense officials said none were killed.
Authorities said the?gunman had appeared at the front of the theater during the film and released a canister of tear gas.?Witnesses told reporters that the?gunfire erupted during a shootout scene in "The Dark Knight Rises."
"It was mass chaos," witness Jennifer Seeger told TODAY.?The gunman?shot the ceiling and then "he threw in the gas can, and then I knew it was real."
"I told my friend, 'We've got to get out of here,' but then he shot people trying to go out the exits," Seeger said. She said the shooter made his way up the aisle, shooting as he went, saying nothing.?
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As many as 12 people were killed and 50 injured at a shooting at the Century 16 movie theatre in Aurora, Colo. early Friday during the showing of the latest Batman movie.
The shooting occurred in the?Century 16 Movie Theaters at Aurora Town Center.?Aurora is a suburb less than 10 miles east of downtown Denver.
NBC station KUSA of Denver?cited a witness as seeing a black-clad, 6-foot-tall man wearing a riot helmet, goggles and a bulletproof vest.?Witnesses said the gunman entered the theater through an emergency exit door.?
Watch live video from KUSA
The suspect was found in possession of a gas mask, Oates said. Ammunition was found in the suspect's car, police said.?Initial reports the car had Tennessee plates turned out to be wrong.
Former FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt tells Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd "this was a pre-planned event."
Officials told NBC News that the gunman had four weapons:?two handguns, made by Glock,?a Remington 870 single-barrel?shotgun and a?Smith and Wesson AR-15 assault-style rifle. The weapons can accommodate large ammunition clips, but authorities haven't said what kind of magazines were used.?
Police name alleged gunman in Colorado theater shooting
An FBI official told NBC News that the agency was working with local authorities but that there was no early indication of a link to terrorism.?Holmes wasn't on any federal law enforcement watch lists,?authorities told NBC News.
Holmes attended high school in the San Diego area. In a statement, his family said:
"Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the families and friends of those involved. We ask that the media respect our privacy during this difficult time. Our family is cooperating with authorities in both San Diego, California, and Aurora, Colorado. We are still trying to process this information and we appreciate that people will respect our privacy."
President Barack Obama cut short a campaign?visit to Florida to return to Washington ahead of schedule.
He called for reflection after the attack. "There are going to be other days for politics," Obama said during an abbreviated appearance in Fort Myers, where he led a moment of silence on behalf of the victims and their families.
'Get us some damn gas masks'
Police raiding the theater in the hunt for the suspect had to ask for gas masks.
"Get us some damn gas masks for theater 9. We can't get in it," one officer radioed back to emergency dispatch during the operation, according to an excerpt aired on KUSA.
Moviegoers described scenes of chaos and terror inside the movie theater.
Seeger told TODAY there were "a lot of children" in the theater.?
"When I ... tried to escape, there was a little girl, 12 or 13, just laying lifeless on the stairs," she said.
More on this story from breakingnews.com
Tanner Coon, who was in the theater with a friend and the friend's 12-year-old brother when the shooter came in, said he told them to "get down" when he heard the gunshots.
The shooter fired off about 20 rounds and there was then a pause and a "period of quietness when everybody started running out," Coon said.
"I slipped on some blood and landed on a lady. I shook her and said, 'We need to go.' There was no response, so I presume she was dead," Coon said.
Another eyewitness, Alex Milano, told KUSA that he "saw at least four, maybe five people limping, slightly wounded. ... I saw one girl covered in blood.
Colorado shooting survivor: 'He pointed the gun right at me'
'I thought it was pretty much the end of the world'
Robert Jones, 28, said he first thought the smoke and sounds of gunshots were all part of the film's special?effects.
Tanner Coon, 17, describes seeing flashes of gunfire, which he thought were fireworks, amid the chaos of trying to escape the shooting as he was "trying to calm" his friend's 12-year-old brother.
"I thought it was pretty much the end of the world," Jones told The Denver Post.
PhotoBlog: More images from the scene of the shooting in Aurora
Further local?coverage from KUSA
At least three people had been treated for chemical exposure, KUSA reported.
Friday's incident was the worst mass shooting in the U.S. since the 2007 shooting on the Virginia Tech campus, in which 33 people died,?including the gunman.
It was the deadliest mass shooting in Colorado since the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire at the school in the Denver suburb of Littleton, about 15 miles west of Aurora, killing 12 classmates and a teacher and wounding 26 other people before killing themselves in the school's library.
Paris premiere canceled
"The Dark Knight Rises," starring Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway, is the latest in the popular Batman action movie franchise. Theaters around the world began showing it at 12:01 a.m. ?Friday.
Warner Bros. canceled the Paris premiere of the film, which was scheduled for Friday evening.
"Warner Bros. and the filmmakers are deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident. We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time,"?the studio said in a statement.
Jim Miklaszewski, David Wyllie, Daniel Strieff, Ian Johnston and F. Brinley Bruton of NBC News; NBC station KUSA of Denver; The Associated Press; and Reuters contributed to this report.
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