James Holmes, the Aurora, Colorado shooter who reportedly opened fire at a Batman movie premiere, was a medical student at the University of Colorado, pursuing a PhD in neuroscience, reports ABC News.

James Eagan Holmes came from a well-tended San Diego enclave of two-story homes with red-tiled roofs, where neighbors recall him as a clean-cut, studious young man of sparing words.

Why he would have pulled on a gas mask and shot dozens of people early Friday in a suburban Denver movie theater. So different from her usual condition.

Holmes was taken into custody shortly after the shooting, police said, adding he didn’t resist when he was arrested,” reports a local CBS news.

Police said he started his attack by tossing a gas canister into the theater, where he had bought a ticket for the midnight showing of “The Dark Night Rises,” the new Batman movie.

Holmes is not talking to police and has asked for a lawyer, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing case. Police found jars of chemicals in Holmes’ booby-trapped apartment with wires nearby, the law enforcement official said.

On Friday morning, police escorted the suspect’s father from the family’s San Diego home. The mother stayed inside, receiving visitors who came to offer support.

San Diego police spokeswoman Lt. Andra Brown, spoke to reporters in the driveway of the Holmes’ home, on behalf of the family.

“As you can understand, the Holmes family is very upset about all of this,” she said. “It’s a tragic event and it’s taken everyone by surprise.”

 
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