AURORA, Colo. - Three days after the mass shooting at a Batman movie screening in Colorado, the profile of the suspected killer has only become more ambiguous and confounding.
At first, the image of James E. Holmes was of an incredibly smart, hopelessly shy young man who barely spoke - a loner isolated in a brilliant mind.
Then people came forward and said, yes he was quiet, but he had circles of friends with whom he joked around and socialized. He was a counselor at a camp in the hills above Glendale, Calif., in 2008, and snapshots from camp show him beaming.
The man accused of opening fire during a midnight premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises" had been part of a graduate program that focuses specifically on how the nervous system processes information and accepts just five or six students each year, school authorities said Monday.
James Holmes was one of about 35 students in the highly selective program, UC-Denver Graduate School Dean Barry Shur said in a news conference livestreamed by Reuters.
Sources familiar with the detention of theater shooting suspect James Holmes say his low-key detached demeanor has not changed since he was taken into custody early Friday morning.
According to knowledgeable sources, reports that Holmes was spitting at guards in jail are "simply false."
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Update on suspicious packages discovered at
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
AURORA, CO (July 25, 2012) – Officials at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus can confirm that the suspicious package discovered at the Facilities Services building on Monday, July 23, 2012, was delivered to the campus by the United States Postal Service that same day, immediately investigated and turned over to authorities within hours of delivery. This package prompted the building’s evacuation at 12:26 p.m. and employees were allowed to return by 3:06 p.m.
The anonymous Fox News source that the package was received on July 12 and sat on a loading dock is inaccurate.
We remain unable to discuss anything further on this package in accordance with the order of Judge Sylvester on July 23, 2012.
NBC News, citing unnamed sources, reported that Holmes told investigators to look for the package and that it described killing people.
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies refused to confirm the reports to The Associated Press.
U.S. Postal Service spokesman David Rupert said the agency's inspectors have no direct knowledge of the package reportedly containing the notebook. He said no one has contacted the Postal Service for assistance in the investigation.
A motion filed by lawyers for accused Colorado gunman James Holmes confirms he was being treated by the school psychiatrist to whom he sent a chilling notebook with sketches of him shooting people before his July 20 attack.
Dr. Lynne Fenton was reprimanded in February 2005 for prescribing medication to herself, her husband and employee, according to documents obtained by 7NEWS reporter Marshall Zelinger.
Michael Carrigan, chairman of the University of Colorado regents, said he couldnt comment on Holmes in particular and said he didnt know what might have brought him to the attention of the BETA team.
AURORA, Colo.In early June, first-year doctoral student James Holmes stood before professors of neuroscience here for an oral exam that marked the beginning of at least four more years of intense study of how the brain works.
Days later, though, school administrators received an email from Mr. Holmes saying that he dropped out of the program. He didn't give a reason.
The mail was sent to a psychologist at the university, but the letter wasn't discovered until Monday.
Ed. note: An original version of this story stated that the package sent to the university sat unopened for days. In a statement released late Wednesday, the University of Colorado-Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus denied those reports and said the package wasn't delivered by U.S. Postal Service until Monday, July 23
An unnamed law enforcement official told CNN that grenades were wired to a control box in the kitchen, resembling setups that are more often seen in Iraq and Afghanistan. The official added that had the explosives gone off as intended, they likely would have knocked down the walls of nearby apartments.
The Elevation Christian Church pastor told The Christian Post Friday, "We think he might've visited in the last month."