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Prosecutors: Holmes Told Classmate of Wish to Kill

He made general threat months before shooting, they say

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 24, 2012 3:54 PM CDT

(Newser) – Prosecutors in the Dark Knight shooting spree continue to make the case that James Holmes was sending signals well before the Aurora massacre, reports the Denver Post and AP. In newly unsealed court documents, they allege that Holmes:

  • Told a fellow student at the University of Colorado in March that he wanted to kill people "and would do so when his life was over."
  • Threatened a professor in June, then got banned from campus. (As reported yesterday, he also failed an oral exam in neuroscience around the time this threat would have been made.)
  • He then "began a detailed and complex plan to obtain firearms, ammunition, a tear-gas grenade, body armor, a gas mask and a ballistic helmet, which were used in the commission of the murders and attempted murders," the prosecutors write.

A university spokesperson denies that Holmes got banned from campus. She says he withdrew from the neuroscience program of his own accord, and his key-card access to buildings was shut off accordingly. The Denver newspaper sees the outline of the case shaping up: Prosecutors will depict the shooting "as a revenge plot by a young man who began failing in his studies," while Holmes' lawyers will likely use an insanity defense.

This courtroom sketch shows James Holmes in court on Aug. 9.
This courtroom sketch shows James Holmes in court on Aug. 9.   (AP Photo/Bill Robles, Pool)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 6 comments
nodules
Aug 26, 2012 6:53 PM CDT
  We're only hearing one side here. How much was Holmes bullied and ridiculed all his life because of his obvious cognitive dysfunction. What threats were made against HIM. Schizophrenics are not created by people being nice to them and don't become violent for no reason. He was pushed to the point where he had no option other than suicide when the deadline on his flat ran out. Because of the schizophrenic's behaviour it is common for acquaintances and even parents to wish them dead, the REASON for their behaviour. Then because noone will lift a finger to help, they can end up in a position where suicide is their only option. They see this as deliberate and it can be, not that anyone will admit it AFTER the event. Because the media is not interested in talking to 'nutters' the ONLY way they can get publicity is an act of extreme violence, and filled with hatred toward society, a massacre seems like a reasonable option. So just who is the guilty party? Holmes just pulled the trigger.  
HANKHILL
Aug 25, 2012 11:13 AM CDT
ok now we the people wish to kill! by by james holmes.
Winston_Smith
Aug 25, 2012 5:48 AM CDT
He shot a bunch of strangers for "revenge"? If that was truly his motivation then I have to think he really was nuts, though not necessarily legally so.
 

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