14 shot dead as they saw Batman film in US theatre

Reuter

DENVER, Colorado: 20 July 2012: Police arrested a suspect in a shooting at a suburban Denver movie theatre in which 14 people were killed, and there was no evidence of a second gunman, Aurora police chief Dan Oates said on Friday.

 

Dan Oates told a news briefing that 10 people were killed on site and four others were later reported dead in area hospitals. At least 50 people were wounded in the shooting at a showing of new Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises".

 

Dozens of police were at the scene, and the authorities evacuated the area while they checked if there was an explosive device in the area.

 

Earlier, local radio station KOA said a figure in a gas mask had opened fire at the late-night showing in a mall in the suburb of Aurora and set off a smoke or tear gas bomb.

 

CNN quoted one witness as saying he saw a "guy slowly making his way up the stairs and firing, picking random people."

 

It said local hospitals were alerted to a "mass casualty incident".