we're getting new pictures and details as we speak including more from the survivors and heartbreaking stories about the victims. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we're going live to the scene of the shooting in just a moment. but first a quick rundown of what happened on this horrible day. the shooting started after midnight about 12:38 a.m. in theater 9 of the century aurora 16 multiplex. aurora's a suburb of denver. about 15 minutes into the midnight showing of the new batman movie "the dark knight rise rises," a lone gunman came in near the screen. >> when he came in, i thought he was some kind of prop or thee tri kal guy. he let off a canister of gas and it exploded. everybody thought it was a prop, but then he shot up in the air and everybody started to panic at that point. when he went straight from the air, he came down with his gun in my face. he was about three feet away from me at that point. in that instant i honestly didn't know what to do. i was terrified. >> cell phone video posted on youtube shows the panic and the confusion as people ran out of the theater. some of them drenched in blood. police were on the scene within two minutes of when the shooting started. some stormed the theater. others helped the victims. >> theater is secure. we're bringing out bodies now. get someone in the back as soon as you can. rescue personnel. cruiser ten, i need a medical crew. i've got one victim e vis rated. >> shut the movie off in 9. >> do i have permission to start taking some of these victims? i got a whole bunch of people shot out here and no rescue. >> yes. load them up. get them in cars. get them out of here. >> the suspected gunman now identified as 24-year-old james eagan holmes. he was arrested outside the theater near the back of a apartment. outside police found three weapons in that car, another gun was found inside the theater. authorities evacuated everyone in the suspect's apartment building by 4:00 a.m. after he warned them that his home was booby trapped. when they broke in later they found incendiary and chemical devices as well as apparent trip wires. police are still on the scene at that apartment. let's get the very latest right now starting with cnn's ed lavandera. he's over at the movie theater where all of this unfolded. what is the very latest, ed? >> reporter: wolf, we've just confirmed with a law enforcement source as to where these four guns were purchased. we've been told by this law enforcement source that all four guns were purchased legally within the last six months. two of the guns were purchased at a bass pro shop in the city of denver. one of the guns was purchased at a mountain gander gun store here in the town of aurora. another was purchased at a gander mountain in thornton, colorado, as well. again, law enforcement source saying those guns were purchased legally within the last six months. we're also told by that law enforcement source that they had found a drum magazine that was connected to the ar-15 rifle. this would have given james holmes the ability to shoot about 100 rounds with that magazine. and the source saying obviously that gave him much more capability to fire off many many rounds once inside that theater. and, wolf, what we've learned from talking to witnesses who were inside theater number 9 when this shooting erupted in the early morning just before 12:40, just a few minutes after the batman movie had premiered and started playing in that movie theater, a horrifying accounts of what happened. many people simply felt trapped. spoke with one witness sitting next to a man shot in the chest. the descriptions of what happened in there, wolf, have simply been horrifying. >> right now what's the scene like where you are? i assume that investigators are all over the place, certainly over the apartment complex as well. >> reporter: you can imagine it's a horrible scene still inside the movie theater where investigators are still inside according to the police chief here in aurora who spoke just a few hours ago, many of the victims' bodies are still inside that theater while they continue to do their investigative work and do all the ballistic work that they need to do. and really what they're trying to figure out here is motive. the police chief would not comment on what james holmes' motive was. and interestingly enough not a lot of specifics as to how he got into the movie theater presuming that that exit door -- witnesses told us he had come into the theater from the exit door, which was just to the right of the movie screen which led to the outside of the movie theater building. presuming that door is locked from the outside, police not saying exactly how james holmes could have gotten in there. did he have help? did he leave that door propped open at some point? to what degree was all this planned out? >> ed, standby for a moment. i'm going to be coming back to you. we've got a lot of reporters on the scene right now. our own anderson cooper is in colorado. he's going to be reporting later tonight including for us here in "the situation room." we're watching all of this unfold. it's been a horrible, horrible day not only for the people of aurora but for all of the people who have been watching all of this unfold in the united states and around the world. it's just been an unbearable situation for so many folks there. jennifer seeger was with a friend in the second row of the aurora movie theater when the gunman stormed in. jennifer is joining us now from aurora. and, jennifer, first of all, how are you doing right now after the ordeal you went through? >> honestly, i'm just taking it one step at a time. i'm trying to just be strong for those families that lost their family members today. it's kind of a shelter shock for me right now. it hasn't really sunk in. but i think the more time that i have to settle down and reflect over things, it's going to start to get to me and wear on me. i'm trying to push through and be strong for the people that lost their families. >> all right. so just walk us through first of all where were you sitting when that alleged gunman came through that exit door near the front of the theater? >> i was -- there's a screen, right? and then there's the front row. i was in the second row behind that on the very right side. i was the first person he could see when he walked in the door on the right hand side through emergency exits. and he -- everybody thought he was just some kind of actor or some kind of prop or some kind of thing that was supposed to enhance the premier as far as that goes. and then they started noticing that it was real. and he had taken a canister of gas and took the top of it and let it off into the crowd. and it was tear gas or something of that nature. and it was getting hard to breathe. and then he at that point shot his first fire into the ceiling. and then everybody began to panic saying there's a gun, there's a gun, everybody started running. then straight from the ceiling he pulled his gun down and put it in front of my face. there was a gun literally in front of my face -- he was about three or four feet away from me. and at that point i was just in a panic. and i realized if i didn't do anything, if i just stood there and i didn't move or try anything, i literally had five seconds to live. he was going to shoot me. so i just dove as fast and quick as i could into the aisle. and i just tucked myself under the chair as fast as i could can my best friends. and i was telling everybody to be calm and not move until he went up the stairs. and then crawl out of the aisle. in the meantime he was shooting people behind me. and there was bullets about this big flying by my face. and they were hot. they were rounds. i could smell the gun powder. i could hear people moaning and groaning. women and children fleeing. it was scary. there was screaming. then he started going up the stairs and shooting people in the aisles that way and walking into the aisles. and everybody was getting shot. every single time they tried to escape he would shoot them. he never had a specific agenda. he was literally relentless and shooting anybody he possibly could get his hands on at that point. he's a big guy. >> jennifer, as far as you could tell, did anyone try to jump this guy to stop this guy? or was he just killing people or shooting people as he was moving up and down the aisle? >> you know, i get that question a lot. as far as i can tell, everybody was just so in a panic. they were just trying to survive and not get hit that they scattered so quickly that the thought didn't even cross their mind until after the fact, you know what i mean? everybody was starting to say if i would have been calm or if i would have had this, had that, i would have stopped the guy, i would have had this, had that, i would have shot the guy. this and that. but at that point, really everybody's main focus was get out of there because he was going to shoot as many people as possible and they knew it. yeah. it was really a terrifying experience. >> and you say came in. you thought he was wearing a costume. what did he look like? could you see his face, for example? or was he wearing a mask? >> no. he was wearing a gas mask, a regular one. not like the one in "bane" or anything. he was wearing a regular gas mask so he could breathe after he let off the tear gas. and he was wearing kevlar. he looked like one of the cops. that's why it was confusing at first. you couldn't see any skin color or race. he was covered from head to toe. at that point all you could tell height and weight. he was about 185 pounds, 20'00" pounds. and about 6. strong build at that point. >> were you injured at all? were you physically injured at all, jennifer? >> i mean, my knees are scraped up, but nothing too big. i don't have any gunshot wounds or anything sprained or broken. it's more emotional damage than anything. >> and the friend you were with? >> he's fine actually. he stayed by my side the entire time. i actually kept him calm and he kept everybody else calm around us. and our goal was just to try to get as many people out of there as we could. >> and i know you try today help some of those people who were injured. walk us through that. >> yeah. well, right after we had gotten out of the aisle that we were in, i told everybody to go make a run for it. as they did that, they came back in because he was shooting people trying to exit the exit. and then i told everybody just to lay down on the ground and play dead and just be very still because he wasn't going to shoot something that he thought was already dead. and at that point i told everybody to make a run for it. they did. he left the building. i had no idea because i was so focused on getting everybody out and staying as low as possible. and then i saw just dead bodies laying on the stairs. dead bodies -- people that were injured all over the seats, hanging over the seats. there was a 12-year-old girl just lifeless laying on the stairs. and then i try to get out myself because i was having a hard time breathing with the tear gas. and i had run into this boy, he was probably 18 years old. and at that point i realized he was mumbling and he was still alive. i had previous emt training. and it just kicked in instinctively for me to check his pulse and see how he is, to see what his critical condition was. he was very critical. i needed to get him out. i put my arm underneath him and everybody started screaming just leave him there. he's coming back. so i just run. but i would have gladly taken a bullet for that man to be able to live. >> was the movie still on the screen as all of this was unfolding? or did they immediately end it and turn on the lights for example? >> are you asking if the movie ended during the whole thing? >> was the movie up on the screen as the gunman was shooting? >> the movie was on the entire time. as far as i could see it was on. chaos. noise from the movie, noise from the people, noise from the gunshots. there was numerous gunshots. i can't count to you how many there were. he loaded rounds and rounds and rounds to people. >> and i had heard, jennifer, i don't know if this is true, but you would know that when that gunman came in and started shooting, there happened to have been a rather violent scene in the film as well. you heard gunfire for example in the film. so a lot of people thought this may have been part of the same thing. >> he was actually in two theaters. he was in 8 and 9. i was in 9. that access door that he came through apparently i think was connected to the other theater. and they were in a farther part of the movie. and apparently that was the theater that had the violent scene. in our scene it wasn't as far as i can remember. it's kind of a blur as far as i can see. but as far as i could see literally the only part i could see was cat woman was getting into a car and he was looking at prince to try to figure out who she was. there was no guns, no nothing. >> jennifer seeger, thanks so much. jennifer, may i ask, how old are you? >> i'm 22 years old. >> 22. you're remarkably poised and we're grateful to you for sharing the story. we're obviously grateful that you're okay, your friend's okay. and we'll stay in close touch with you. thanks so much. >> thank you so much. and i'm grateful to be here. >> good luck to you, jennifer seeger, sharing her story. incredible story. she was in the second row when that gunman walked in and started shooting. 71 people shot, 12 of whom are now dead. we're going to go to the apartment complex where this alleged gunman lived where police are now investigating. you're looking at live pictures from outside that apartment complex. we'll show you what's going on. kyung lah is on the scene. much more of the breaking news right after this. >> as soon as we heard the first shots, my sister immediately grabbed my arm and wanted to leave as quick as possible. yeah. it was terrifying. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. never took life too seriously... till our son was born. that day, he bought life insurance. now there's no way i could send our boy to college without it. if there was one thing i could say to hank, it'd be "thank you." you're welcome. hey, hank. 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[ male announcer ] learn more from your state farm agent today. there was this one guy who was on all fours crawling. girls spitting up blood. one guy stripped down to like just his boxers. it looked like he had been shot in the back or something. it was crazy. >> learning more details now about the shooting suspect james egan holmes. there's a picture. he graduated with highest honors from the university of california riverside in 2010. received a bachelor of science degree in neuroscience. last year he enrolled in the graduate program in neurosciences at the university of colorado's denver campus. a university statement today says he was in the process of withdrawing from that program. right now police still are at holmes' apartment. they're trying to figure out what was going on. they're trying to dismantle any explosive devices he left behind. here's what aurora's police chief told reporters a little while ago. >> our investigation determined that his apartment is booby trapped with various incendiary and chemical devices and apparent trip wires. so we have an active and difficult scene there. it may be resolved in hours or days. we simply don't know how we're going to hale that. >> kyung lah is on the scene for us at that apartment complex. she's got more on this part of the investigation. kyung, what are you learning? >> reporter: wolf, even though it doesn't look like a very active scene with officers running around, this is indeed very active. police are backing up people because they are concerned about how dangerous this might be. see this tape where i'm standing right here? we were moved back about 30 minutes ago. if you look further down where that fire truck is, that's where we were standing. officers are widening the area because they are very concerned if you look further down to where that second fire truck is, that's right near the suspect's apartment. and it is inside that apartment where you just heard the police chief talk about those booby traps, the incendiary devices, chemical devices. that's why police have evacuated five buildings of people here. certainly it is alarmed people here in this community. but it especially alarmed one man we met just a short time ago. he actually had a beerwith the suspect on tuesday. and he says that this has certainly alarmed him and everyone here. listen to what he said. >> i live down the next block. and i woke up this morning to helicopters and yellow tape. and i'm like, wow. usually to get to work i come through here. but see this, knowing this guy's down the street at the bar with me drinking a beer and he lives right here and i'm on the next block, with explosives? that's insane. >> rter: so i asked mi, did you have any sign? was there anything in his eyes, how he dressed, that something might be up? he said absolutely not. he looked like an average college student. someone he described as being quite geeky and perhaps shy. but he had nothing in his face, wolf, that would give way as to what would happen overnight. >> as far as motivation is concerned involving this suspect, the police chief there says they're not going to say anything about the motivation that may have occurred. are you learning anything at all about what may have motivated this suspect to do this kind of mass shooting? >> well, he didn't really open up to the people here in the neighborhood perhaps. mr. mitchell, who we spoke to, knew him best just because he had a beer with him this week. he dressed, went to school, came home. people did see him going back and forth. he wasn't hiding anything. they didn't suspect that he was doing anything illicit inside of his apartment. they just really thought he was just another student in the neighborhood, wolf. they just didn't have any idea. and certainly no idea about what would have motivated him to do what he did if indeed that's what the courts do decide and find out. >> we know he graduated with high honors with a bachelor of science degree in california. was enrolled in a graduate program at the university of colorado in denver. aurora's a suburb of denver, but he was withdrawing from that program. has the university or anyone else suggested why he decided to withdraw from the program? >> reporter: at this point we haven't heard anything about what would have led him to do that. and from his behavior, from what some of the neighbors have told us, they didn't really think that he had a particular schedule that he was sticking to. mitchell said he saw him going back and forth in and out of his apartment. he thought he was still enrolled in school. >> how close are you, kyung, how close are they letting you to the actual stand over there close to the apartment where the obviously the bomb squad is continuing to try to dismantle in incendiary devices? >> reporter: let me give you a quick look. again, here's the tape. if you look further down you see that tape -- another set of tape. and then you see that fire truck. right next to that fire truck, that's where the apartment building is. and what we have seen when we were at the closer location is that it's the third floor where we saw some of the windows that had been broken