4:18 mark of the police-scanner audio – 11: We’ve got the back covered and the south side covered.
5:00 – Lincoln 25: I’m being told that he’s in Theater 9.
6:15 – 16 Adam: I need a marked car behind the theaters, Sable side. Got a suspect in a gas mask.
6:30 – Is that the dude in the white car you’re by?
6:50 –
Officer 1: 311: Hold the air one second. Cars where that white car in the rear of the lot—is that a suspect?
Officer 2: Yes, we’ve got rifles, gas masks. He’s detained right now. I’ve got an open door going into the theater.
Officer 1: OK, hold that position. Hold your suspect.
THE TAKEAWAY: Based on what one officer says, it sounds like Holmes may have been in his car when police found him. But according to recent courtroom testimony, Officer Jason Oviatt says he found him standing outside the driver-side door in a gas mask and full tactical gear, causing him to initially mistake Holmes for a fellow officer. Although the “in the car” question remains unreconciled, the police audio indicates that Holmes was apprehended about two minutes after Officer 11 radioed that they had secured the back of the theater.
But this raises another question: If police had the back side of the theater covered before they discovered Homes, did they not initially see him because he was still inside the theater? Or was he somewhat concealed in the confines of his car? The third possibility would be that he was already at his car, but mistaken as another cop by the first officers on the scene.
Skeptics who believe that Holmes was inside his car when police found him, possibly drugged up as a patsy, cite the the broken passenger-side windows on his car, as well as a spine board beneath the car for medical transport.
Then in the above image, there’s the package that appears on the passenger seat. In the context of a planned shooting, this seems a bit out of place until factored into the subsequent discovery that a notebook detailing the attack was allegedly put in the mail to Holmes’ psychiatrist hours before the shooting.
Further analysis of the police scanner audio follows…
9:58 – Officer: 321: One of the shooters may be wearing a white-and-blue plaid shirt.
Dispatcher: Copy. Outstanding shooter possibly wearing a white-and-blue plaid shirt.
11:44 – Suspect’s saying he’s the only one, but I’m getting conflicting suspect descriptions from the witnesses out here.
17:42 Cruiser 49: I’m already identifying parties who saw the entire thing as it unfolded. So, cars, continue to stop people and ask questions as to what they saw.
24:15 Tac 16—sorry—Tac 21, Denver Tac 21: One of the construction workers said somebody just came booking out of the parking lot. Male, red backpack was all they saw. Was headed towards Alameda.
24:35 Officer: Victor 1: We have an RP for a male dressed in black with a black backpack going to the northeast.
Dispatcher: Copy, all units on Blue Southwest. Denver Tac 21 stating a male with a red backpack and another one, possibly in black clothing, headed towards Alameda.
25:01 K, suspect is gonna be a male, unknown race, black camo-type outfit, believed to be wearing a vest, gas mask, and multiple long guns.
31:13 Updated version: Suspect in all black. Black tactical vest. Black tactical helmet. [unintelligible] gas masks. Full tactical gear with at least one handgun, possible shotgun, and possible one other long gun.
45:28 Metro 10 to people with those key witnesses that were inside the theater: We need to start quickly as possible getting suspect descriptions because we initially got some conflicting information. I wanna make sure we’re not looking for anybody else.
56:39 321: I had another witness say ‘green camouflage pants.’
1:16:16 Uh, yeah, I don’t know if this information’s already been put out, but I’m talking to people making a statement. It sounds like we have possibly two shooters: One that was in Theater 8, seated, another one that came in from the outside into Theater 9. Sounded like it was a coordinated attack.
1:16:49 Officer: [unintelligible officer ID]: I just wasn’t sure if we have the information out that there’s possibly two shooters?
Dispatcher: Negative—that is new. Newsbreak: Every unit on Blue Southeast: Possible second shooter still at large.
THE TAKEAWAY: Multiple witnesses describe at least two suspects other than the gunman. There could be more than two, depending on permutations of clothing:
- One wearing a white-and-blue plaid shirt
- One in green camouflage pants
- A male with a red backpack running toward Alameda Avenue
- A male dressed in black with a black backpack heading to the northeast of the theater (Alameda Avenue and Sable Boulevard)
The fact that the gunman’s description is mentioned twice—more than 20 minutes after Holmes was detained—has made some skeptics argue that there was a second gunman on the loose. This could be the case, but given the unique outfit worn by Holmes, it may be more likely that not all responding officers realized that the prime suspect was already detained as they took eyewitness accounts.
Police Continue Searching in Nearby Aurora Mall
1:52:38
Officer: We have a siren and a red light outside here.Dispatcher: Copy. Let me double-check with my primaries… It looks like we did have one alarm an hour ago at Macy’s. But since you went inside, it has been cleared out.
2:20:06
Arapahoe County: I guess they wanna bring out that floor cleaner/suspect out that JC Penney door. You ready for that?
THE TAKEAWAY: An alarm at Macy’s in the nearby Town Center mall could have been triggered by a fleeing suspect, and the mall’s janitor was detained by police for questioning.
The Media Reported a Suspect on the Loose
Some of the news reports from that morning were consistent with what can be heard on the police scanner. ABC News initially reported this as it happened:
9NEWS’ Brandon Rittiman reported this before interviewing Theater 8 witness Alex Milan:
9NEWS’ Kevin Torres reported this after speaking to several witnesses:
…but now police are saying that it appears that only one person was involved in this. But clearly, in the middle of the night talking with these witnesses, everybody thought that there was more than one person involved.
Fuzzy Math: The Physical Evidence That Doesn’t Add Up
In the days after the shooting, investigators poured over Holmes’ records to document his arsenal of weapons and body armor that he allegedly used in the shooting.
But when comparing Holmes’ purchases to what was reportedly found at the scene, some salient mismatches arise with the gas masks, gas canisters, and bulletproof vest. These inconsistencies not only raise questions about where Holmes obtained the equipment, but with the police investigation itself.
May 10: Two tear gas canisters, bought online.
• • • Separately on July 2:
Body armor for the neck, torso and groin, bought online.
Additionally, Court Order C-19 tell us this:
Bureau of Arms, Tobacco, and Firearms (“ATF”) Agent Steven Beggs testified that…between May and July 2012…Defendant purchased numerous rounds of ammunition, two tear gas canisters, a ballistic helmet, torso neck protection, bullet proof arm protection, groin protection, and ballistic pants or chaps.
The Two Gas Canisters
Let’s start with the gas canisters. Records show that Holmes bought two gas canisters online, and police recovered two gas canisters from the crime scene—one inside Theater 9 and one near Holmes’ vehicle. According to Court Order C-19:
Sergeant Fyles also stated that near Defendant’s car, police found a black and silver canister of tear gas that matched the canister found inside Theater Nine and matched the kind of tear gas that ATF Agent Beggs stated that Defendant purchased.
But recall that multiple witnesses in Theater 8 reported a gas-canister “explosion” in their own theater. The clear presence of a distinct third gas canister is perhaps the most convincing evidence that Holmes had an accomplice, but police are yet to acknowledge its existence or the corresponding testimony of said witnesses.
The Bulletproof Vest
Over time, a forensic oddity surfaced regarding the type of tactical vest that Holmes was wearing when apprehended. Official testimony from witnesses and police indicates that he was wearing one that was bulletproof:
Zap2It Law enforcement sources say gunman James Holmes, 24, was dressed for battle in a bullet-resistant vest and gas mask Friday (July 20) morning…
FOX31 Denver At 7 p.m. [Friday, July 20th], Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates told reporters that Holmes purchased 6,000 rounds of ammunition over the internet. He was also decked out in all black with a kevlar helmet, a gas mask, a tactical bullet-resistant vest, bullet-proof leggings, a neck and groin protector and special tactical gloves.
The Denver Post [Monday, January 7th]’s testimony reiterated that Holmes was outfitted as if for a battle when police put him in handcuffs the morning of July 20. He wore a helmet and gas mask, a bullet-resistant vest, a throat protector, a groin protector and armored leggings. He had at least one knife on him, Aurora officer Jason Oviatt testified.
Court Order C-19 Officer Oviatt stated he ordered the suspect into the prone position on the ground, and he secured the individual, handcuffing him and searching him. Officer Oviatt observed that the suspect was wearing soft body armor on his chest and legs, a bulky coat with armor, a helmet and gas mask, and track pants with soft body armor leggings or chaps.
However, in Holmes’ only documented purchase of a tactical vest, he ordered a non-bulletproof Blackhawk Urban Assault Vest. NBC News elaborates:
On July 2, Holmes placed a $306 order with the site for a combat vest, magazine holders and a knife, paying extra for expedited two-day shipping to his Aurora apartment.
Holmes apparently obtained his bulletproof vest without a credit card, but from who? So far, police have not accounted for this contradiction in their investigation.
The Four Gas Masks
Not even mentioned in Holmes’ list of purchases are the two gas masks in his possession. Then there is the issue of the third gas mask that was lef toward the opposite end of the parking lot where he was arrested. This gas mask was not widely reported in the mainstream media, but was referenced in the above diagram from The Washington Post and in other crime-scene photos.
There’s more. On September 1st, 2012, Denver Post court reporter Jessica Fender tweeted that four gas masks were found, but later deleted the tweet after the implication arose that police compromised part of the crime scene.
At Holmes’ preliminary hearing in January, word of the four gas masks re-emerged when Aurora police detective Sgt. Matthew Fyles took the stand. According to the article by Fender and Ingold:
The court also heard Wednesday about items found at the shooting scene. Fyles testified that police they found four gas masks, although only two belonged to Holmes.
Almost as remarkable as the official discovery of gas masks not belonging to Holmes was Fender and Ingold’s noticeable silence and decision not to follow up on the revelation—just as other members of the mainstream media failed to do.
Do they not see the potential game-changing implication here? Or is this simply a road that they don’t want to go down?
Could the extra gas masks have been left behind by police, who needed them to enter Theater 9? If that’s the case, how can the gas mask that was found a good distance away from Holmes’ car be considered evidence? Its mere presence suggests that before fleeing the scene, an accomplice tossed his or her gas mask in an effort to not attract attention during their escape.
In the context of the lone-gunman story, there’s no obvious answer as to why two extra gas masks were part of the crime scene. Assuming that these masks did not belong to police, the most logical explanation is that there was at least one other person involved in the attack.
