BBC NEWS
The US has begun mourning the 12
people killed and 59 wounded in a mass shooting at a midnight showing of the new
Batman film, the Dark Knight Rises.
US President Barack Obama ordered flags flown at half mast and said the day was "for prayer and reflection."
A man wearing a gas mask and body armour threw tear gas canisters at movie-goers in Aurora, Colorado, then fired on the crowd, witnesses said.
James Holmes, 24, was arrested outside the cinema near Denver, police said.
He was said to be armed with a rifle, a shotgun and two pistols. All were bought legally within the last few months, US media reported.
In New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, who said he had been briefed on the case, said the suspect had dyed his hair red and told police after his arrest that he was the Joker, one of Batman's most famous opponents.
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Cinema shooting suspect
- James Holmes, 24, was a former neuroscience PhD student at University of Colorado-Denver
- Attended high school in San Diego, California, where his parents still live
- He lived in an apartment in north of Aurora, about five miles from the cinema
- Only previous brush with the law was a summons for speeding in October 2011
"It clearly looks like a deranged individual," Mr Kelly
said.
Cinemas in New York tightened security at Batman showings following the attack, and the French premiere of the film in Paris was cancelled.
Mr Holmes was in the process of withdrawing from a doctoral programme in neuroscience at the University of Colorado-Denver, a university spokeswoman told the Associated Press.
Authorities have established no terrorism link, nor any motive. Mr Holmes had no criminal record in Aurora - his only encounter with police there was a traffic ticket.
Mr Holmes' family said in a written statement: "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."
On Friday afternoon, police were still working to identify the dead, 10 of whose bodies still lay inside the cinema.
One woman known to have been killed was Jessica Ghawi, also known as Jessica Redfield, an aspiring broadcaster and a prolific blogger.
After the shooting, police said that - acting on information from the suspect - they had discovered that his home in the north of Aurora had been booby-trapped. Incendiary devices with chemical elements and trip wires were in the flat, police said.
"We have an active and difficult scene there," said Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates, who added it could be hours or days before the apartment was cleared.
The attack began minutes into the showing at about 00:30 local time (06:30 GMT), when the gunman apparently entered the cinema through an emergency exit door near the front of the auditorium.
The gunman wore a bullet-proof vest, tactical body armour and gloves, and was carrying an AR-15 military-style, semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and two pistols, police said.
Survivors said they initially thought the gunman was somehow part of the show.
The gunman, whom witnesses said had said nothing during the attack, threw two tear gas grenades then opened fire with a rifle.
There was chaos as movie-goers fled, some dressed in costume as heroes and villains.
Ten people were killed at the cinema and two others died later in hospital of their wounds.
Scores of people, some in a critical condition, were taken to four hospitals.
The casualties included a four-month-old baby, who was released from hospital after treatment, and a six-year-old child.
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BLOGGERS NOTE: Our heartfelt condolences and sympathy go out to all the families and loved ones of those affected by this awful tragedy.
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