Who Is James Holmes?

James Eagan Holmes is the 24-year old man in police custody for the shootings last night at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

Aurora Police search James Holmes’ car, which he had reportedly told them contained explosives.

Federal officials identified James Holmes as the suspected gunman caught in the parking lot outside an Aurora, Colo., movie theater where 12 people were killed and 50 injured in an attack on a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.” Here’s what we know:

He’s 24 years old, born Dec. 13, 1987.

A San Diego woman who identified herself as James Holmes’ mother told ABC News, “You have the right person… I need to call the police… I need to fly out to Colorado.” ABC News reported that she had not yet been contacted by law enforcement officials when they spoke to her.

The AP is reporting that Holmes is a med-school drop out, a student of the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver until last month. A student of that name was enrolled in a course called “Biological Basis of Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders” this spring. He gave a presentation on May 8 on the topic of “MicroRNA biomarkers.”

His high school website indicates that Holmes was awarded a prestigious scholarship to attend the University of California at Riverside. UC Riverside confirms that Holmes graduated with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience in the Spring 2010.

According to ABC News, witnesses said the shooter, thought to be Holmes, entered the crowded theater 20 minutes after the beginning of the movie wearing a gas mask and carrying a rifle and a handgun. He threw a gas canister into the theater and opened fire, killing 12 and injuring others.

Police are on the scene at Holmes’ apartment, which is filled with booby traps, according to Reuters. Police say the explosives in his apartment are “very sophisticated” and could take “hours or days” to disarm.

Redditor quepasacontigo says these pictures, taken about an hour ago, reportedly show the scene outside Holmes’ apartment in Denver. Source: imgur.com

Source: imgur.com