Earlier this morning, during the midnight premier of ‘Dark Knight Rises’ in Aurora, CO, a masked gunman was responsible for the death of 12 people and bringing injury to around 50. Law enforcement has confirmed the identity of the suspect as 24-year-old James Holmes and are currently searching his apartment , which they fear could have explosives, for more evidence as to why he did this.

Local reporter Justin Jones said the gunman was wearing body armour and a gas mask.

“The attacker shot a baby at point blank range,” he said.

During the opening credits, Dates saw someone in the front row answer a phone call and walk to the emergency door in the front of the theater, he said.

Less than an hour later a man, dressed in black and wearing a gas mask and what looked like body armor, marched into the theater through the same emergency exit. He lobbed two canisters and almost instantly the theater filled with smoke.

Dates and Seeger, like everyone else in the theater, thought the man and the smoke were all part of the show, they said. Right as their eyes began to tear up from the smoke, the man fired a shot at the ceiling.

The gunman moved through

the crowd and stopped in front of Seeger.

He pointed a long rifle at her face and said nothing.

He shot at the person sitting behind her, Seeger said.

“I have no idea why he didn’t shoot me,” Seeger said.

The two dove to the ground. They could feel hot shell casings hitting their legs as the tried to crawl through the dark theater now filled with smoke. Seeger’s forehead has a burned from one of the casings.

Her friends urged each other and the people around them to stay quiet, desperate not to draw the attention of the gunman who was working his way up the isle.

As she huddled on the ground, Seeger could see bodies of women and children lying around her.

Brittany Diemer showed the ticket stub for the Dark Knight Rises Friday morning. She was in the theatre when a gunmen opened fire on moviegoers. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

to help a man bleeding next to her. She worked to find a pulse, but was forced to leave him behind as they tried to flee the theater.

People tried to exit through the main entrance of the theater, Seeger said. By then the gunman had worked his way to the back of the theater, shooting at people as they tried to run.

Seeger estimates she was trapped in the theater for 10 to 15 minutes. When she finally reached the lobby, she saw a police officer cocking a shot gun.

Read more:12 killed, 50 wounded at Aurora movie theater – The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21118201/unknown-number-people-shot-at-aurora-movie-theater#ixzz21AjZN5ei
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