An explosion can be heard coming from the apartment of suspected Colorado movie theater gunman James Eagan Holmes' apartment.
By Miranda Leitsinger and Miguel Llanos, NBC News
AURORA, Colo. -- Specialists set off a small, controlled detonation inside the apartment of mass shooting suspect James Eagan Holmes on Saturday after earlier disarming a trip wire and incendiary device set to kill, police said.
The blast succeeded in disarming a second triggering device,?Aurora Police Sgt. Cassidee Carlson told reporters.
A siren and shouts of "Fire in the hole" preceded the blast, and a two-man team on a fire truck ladder later peered inside the third-story apartment. Live video showed the blast blowing out part of a window, but no smoke or fire resulted.
"The controlled detonation was successful," the Aurora Police Department said in a statement. "Still more work to be done in the apartment to include dealing with other devices. There is a possibility of more controlled detonations."
The 800-square-foot apartment appears to have three types of explosives, a law enforcement source told the Associated Press: jars with accelerants; chemicals that would explode when mixed together; and more than 30 "improvised grenades" that resemble commercially available aerial fireworks shells.
Before the detonation, Carlson announced a trip wire and explosive had been disarmed, saying "we have been successful in defeating the first threat."
"It was set up to kill," she said of the trip wire and explosive.
She did not say if the team used a robot as earlier planned.
She added that "another triggering mechanism" had been found inside, and that was later followed up with the controlled detonation.
Carlson earlier said any controlled detonation "may cause a loud boom. There may also be a fire that erupts at that point."
"We're going to be very cautious," she added, because "we don't want to lose" any evidence.
Authorities in Aurora, Colo., announce that they have completed the first step needed to enter the apartment of suspected movie theater shooter James Eagan Holmes.
"There are still unknowns," she said, referring to the possibility of a fire or explosions that are not controlled. "We're not exactly sure of everything that's in there."
Any undetonated explosives will be taken in trucks lined with sand to take the impact of any explosion, she said, adding that some 30 aerial shells are among the items detected inside the apartment on Friday.
Fire trucks surrounded the building on Saturday as a precaution. Some adults and children in nearby?buildings not evacuated watched from balconies.
Earlier Saturday, streets around the building were cleared, four neighboring buildings were evacuated and some unattended vehicles were towed away.
On Friday, tenants in Holmes' apartment building cleared out, taking with them a few belongings.
The Red Cross said Saturday that 16 evacuees were in one of the agency's shelters.
The building is in a lower-income area about four miles from where the shootings took place during a midnight premiere of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises".
James Holmes was described as a geeky, booksmart and quiet student. Now, police are trying to figure out what caused him to allegedly commit such a heinous act.
Related content from NBCNews.com:
Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
?
nfl power rankings week 12 brine turkey brine turkey uc davis super committee walmart black friday ad 2011 nl mvp
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.