2012 in Review: Mass Murder in America

The crime rate in New York City was exceptionally low in 2012 – the murder rate hit an all-time low. ?But just a couple of hours away, more than two dozen people, mostly children, were killed in one of the worst acts of school violence in the country’s history. ?And that was only one of the mass murders in the United States for the year.

FOX News Radio’s Dave Anthony reports:

Just minutes into a midnight showing on opening day of the latest Batman movie, a man dressed in tactical gear with bright dyed orange hair opened fire inside the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. ?Some initially thought it was a prank – smoke filled the theater, but then, shots were fired. ?Twelve people were killed and 58 injured.

The suspect, 24-year-old James Holmes, was arrested minutes later outside. ?But right after the arrest, police went to his apartment, which they’d found out was rigged.

(Oates) “I see an awful lot of wires, trip wires; jars full of ammunition, jars full of liquid; some things that look like mortar rounds.”

Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates described Holmes as wearing a mask, ballistic helmet, bulletproof vest, bullet-resistant leggings, a throat protector and tactical gloves upon being arrested. ?They say he used three guns during the shooting, but had bought four – they had been purchased legally.

Outside the rigged apartment, people like Jackie Mitchell and Rachel Reid said they knew Holmes, that they’d hung out with him at a local bar.

(Mitchell/Reid) “Geeky sunglasses, you know; backpack, you know. ?You don’t see no killer.” // “Doesn’t seem like a psychopath.” // “Yeah, you don’t see that.”

Holmes had been a PhD student at the University of Colorado, where he was studying neuroscience. ?However, he had been withdrawing from the school. ?Before he did, though, he met with psychiatrist and professor Dr. Lynne Fenton at the campus, this is according to court documents. ?He mailed her a notebook, along with some burnt money inside of it, but she never received it. ?It had been sent just before the shooting and sat in the university’s mail room that weekend.

Click HERE for more on the Aurora, CO Theater Shooting

However, it’s been reported that Dr. Fenton was so disturbed by Holmes when she met him that she told the campus Threat-Assessment Team about him. ?It’s also been reported that the notebook contained possible plans of the shooting. ?At his first court appearance, Holmes appeared dazed and out of it. ?In subsequent hearings, Holmes’ attorneys have called him mentally ill. ?Among the charges he’s facing: two murder charges for each person killed and two attempted murder charges for each of those injured.

Just weeks before the shooting in the Aurora movie theater, there was another mass shooting. ?This time, it was at a house of worship, as a man walked into a Wisconsin Sikh temple and killed six people before turning his gun on himself.