Aurora shooting – when was the Colorado movie theatre massacre, who was James Holmes and how many victims were there?
The orange-haired killer, 29, bought a ticket to a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises before launching his sickening attack
James Holmes opened fire at a movie theatre in Colorado in the summer of 2012 - killing 12 innocent film fans.
The orange-haired killer, 29, bought a ticket to a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises and then, twenty minutes into the movie, sprayed the audience with three different guns.
When was the Colorado movie theatre massacre?
The shooting was on July 20, 2012 in Aurora, Colorado at a midnight screening of the hotly-anticipated Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises.
The Century 16 movie theatre was packed with film fans of all ages.
The perpetrator of the attack, James Holmes, had rigged his home with explosives which had to be defused by a bomb squad the day after the shooting.
The Aurora massacre remains one of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States.
How did James Holmes carry out his attack?
In the two months leading up to the shooting, Holmes, had purchased four guns - an AR-15 assault rifle, a Remington 12-gauge shotgun, a .40 caliber Glock handgun and another pistol - from local shops and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition, police said at the time.
All of the weapons and ammunition were purchased legally.
Shortly after the film started the spree killer propped an emergency exit open with a table cloth holder, went to his car, changed into protective gear and a gas mask and retrieved his guns.
Holmes walked back into the theatre and threw two gas canisters into the audience. Many in the audience thought it was a publicity stunt until he began spraying the crown with the shotgun, then the assault rifle and finally the pistol.
A witness said he went outside and and shot people as they ran.
Cops apprehended Holmes in his car behind the cinema within minutes of the shooting. He told them that he was "The Joker".
On August 7 2015 Holmes was sentenced to life in prison without parole, avoiding the death penalty because the jury could not come to a unanimous decision.
How many people died in the Aurora massacre?
A total of ten people died at the scene, and another two died from their wounds in hospital. One of the victims was a six-year-old girl.
70 people were injured in the ordeal, one of them was hit by gunfire in the next screen over.
Who is James Holmes?
Holmes was originally from Riverside, California and neighbours said lived alone and kept to himself.
He was academically gifted and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Colorado medical centre.
His lawyer said he had mental health issues growing up and tried to kill himself aged 11.