YaMaNuMa via Flickr

Additional reporting by Daily Shift staff

4.44pm (GMT): Authorities say suspect James Holmes’ apartment in North Aurora is ‘booby-trapped’. “We could be here for days,” police chief Dan Oates told the Denver Post. Agents are currently attempting to make the area safe. Five buildings have been evacuated in the area.

Meanwhile, the death toll has been revised downwards to 12.

A picture is emerging of the 24-year-old suspect. Holmes, whose parents live in San Diego, California, was described by neighbours as a recluse, who added that he never said hello or interacted with others in the building. It is believed that he was a medical student at the University of Colorado but had dropped out recently.

The Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper called the shootings “an act of depravity”.

President Obama, who is currently in Florida, said, “We may never understand what leads anybody to terrorise their fellow human beings like this.”

The New York Police Department has confirmed it will deploy officers to screenings of The Dark Knight Rises to prevent copycat incidents. Security will also be raised in London.

The Parisian premiere of the film has been cancelled as a mark of respect.

A statement from the Holmes family read: “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 co-operating 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.”

2.50 pm (GMT): Jessica Redfield is among the victims of the shooting. Just last month she survived a shooting at a shopping mall in Toronto and documented her thoughts and emotions in her blog.

Her final tweets on Twitter poignantly describe her excitement at attending the midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises and the efforts she made to make her friend go with her.

Jessica Redfield’s final tweets

Ms. Redfield was also known as Jessica Ghawi.

2.25 pm (GMT): The Paris premiere of The Dark Knight Rises has been cancelled as a mark of respect for the shooting victims.

1.50 pm (GMT): A survivor still in hospital has posted pictures of his close call on Reddit.

1.15pm (GMT): The suspect has been named as James Holmes, a local resident. He is currently in police custody awaiting questioning. Currently, 100 FBI agents are on the scene.

1.00 pm (GMT): Eyewitness accounts and footage of the horrific events in Denver, Colorado are beginning to come through. The gunman, who began his spree in Theatre Nine at the Century Theater in the suburb of Aurora, reportedly fired so aggressively that shots came through the walls into Theatre Eight.

An eyewitness in Theatre Eight said that people were injured in that room. “Me and my sister and my friends were wondering what was going on, what was happening and then at that point I saw something coming through the wall. Multiple objects just floated through the wall. I saw holes in the walls,” he told local TV station Channel Nine. “People stood up and started checking themselves. A couple of people were holding [themselves] and I heard moaning like they were in pain.”

There is some confusion over the official death toll, with the live feed in Colorado placing it at 12, other sources placing it at 14, and some putting it as high as 16.

President Barack Obama has made a statement. The president said he was keeping the people of Aurora in his prayers, and that his administration would make every effort possible to support the people of Denver and bring the perpetrator of this incident to justice. Hazmat (chemical and hazardous material specialists) have been sent to the apartment in North Aurora. There are also unconfirmed reports that an infant has died, according to Denver police scanners.

Aurora is less than 20 miles away from Columbine, which saw a horrific school shooting in 1999.

Below are two videos from eyewitnesses. Readers are warned that they may find them disturbing.

11.27am (GMT): 

A night at the cinema turned to tragedy in the US when a masked gunman opened fire at the midnight screening of the new Batman film The Dark Knight Rises in The Century Theater cinema at the Aurora Mall, Denver.

Early reports are indicating that at least 14 people have been killed and up to 50 injured after the gunman walked into the screening and opened fire. Witnesses say that he was was dressed in an all-black body armour and a gas mask. It is believed that he let off tear gas canisters, causing confusion among the moviegoers, many of whom believed that the sound of gunfire was part of the film.

Despite early reports that there were two attackers, police are currently holding one person in custody. They arrested a man in the cinema car park and have evacuated an apartment block in city, suspecting that there may be explosives inside.

They are also combing the car park at the cinema in suburb of Aurora in search of an explosive device.

While it is not believed that the incident is related to terrorism, there are reports that the FBI are considering raising its security level.

Hospitals in Denver are prepared for a ‘major casualty incident’. Ten people died at the scene and four more died in hospital. People have been evacuated to a nearby high school while police make the area safe.

A witness told CNN that he saw “a guy slowly making his way up the stairs and firing, picking random people.”

*Lead image courtesy of YaMaNuMa via Flickr