On July 20, 2012, a mass shooting occurred inside a Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, United States, during a midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises.

Dressed in tactical clothing, 24-year-old James Eagan Holmes set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms.

On August 26, Holmes was given 12 life sentences, one for every person he killed; he also received 3,318 years for the attempted murders of those he wounded and for rigging his apartment with explosives.

[6] The shooting occurred in Theater 9 at the Century 16 multiplex (operated by Cinemark Theatres), located in the Town Center at Aurora shopping mall[7] at 14300 E. Alameda Avenue.

[14] He was listening to a techno radio station, which was playing the song "Becoming Insane" by Infected Mushroom, through a set of headphones so that he could not hear anything from people in the theater.

Some believed he was playing a prank,[17] while others thought he was part of a special effects setup for the film's premiere, or a publicity stunt by the studio or theater management.

[18] Holmes reportedly threw one canister towards the left[19] side of the theatre, emitting a gas or smoke, that partially obscured the audience members' vision, made their throats and skin itch, and caused eye irritation.

[27] The first phone calls to emergency services via 9-1-1 were made around midnight, prior to his attack, as can be heard in the opening statements of the prosecution, as well as the recorded transcript of his interview with the FBI.

[22] Ambulances were hindered by chaos and congestion in the parking lot, and they were unable to reach the back of the complex where police had pulled the injured out through the emergency exit doors of Theatre 9.

[41] Speaking on behalf of himself and FBI agent James Yacone, who was in charge of the investigation, Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said he was confident that the shooter acted alone.

[86] On January 2, 2013, prosecutors and defense attorneys in the case returned to court in advance of the preliminary hearing, the public's first officially sanctioned look at the evidence, due to the gag order.

[87][clarification needed] Also on January 7, lawyers for both sides argued whether to admit four unspecified prescription bottles and immunization records investigators had seized from Holmes' apartment when they searched it in July 2012, considering doctor-patient confidentiality laws.

Arapahoe County district attorney George Brauchler said: "It's my determination and my intention that in this case for James Eagan Holmes justice is death.

[93] On May 7, an FBI agent displayed pieces of evidence at the trial, including Holmes' body armor, an arsenal of weapons, unfired ammunition, and a helmet with strands of his dyed orange hair.

[96] On May 26, details of Holmes' notebook, reportedly found in a university mail room addressed to his psychiatrist Lynne Fenton, were entered into evidence at the trial for the first time.

The notebook elaborated on Holmes' obsession to kill since ten years prior to the shooting, his dissatisfaction with life and finding work, as well as health issues.

[99] On June 8, a second psychiatrist, Jeffrey Metzner, testified that Holmes was mentally ill but legally sane during the shooting, and suffers from schizoaffective disorder.

[101] In the following week, two additional jurors were dismissed; the first due to emotional problems following the shooting of a family member, the second for recognizing a survivor who was wounded in the massacre.

[108][109] On July 23, the jury ruled that Holmes acted in a cruel manner, was lying in wait, and ambushed his victims during the shooting, which constitute as aggravating factors.

[110] On July 27, Holmes' sister stated in her testimony that her brother became withdrawn from the family after they moved from Salinas to San Diego during his early teenage years.

[111] On July 30, Holmes' lawyers made a final appeal to the jurors, urging them to consider mental illness in his sentencing despite their rejection of the insanity defense used in the trial.

I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime.

The studio canceled the film's gala premieres in France, Mexico, and Japan,[134][135] scaled down its marketing campaign in Finland,[136][137] and decided not to report box office figures for the movie until July 23.

[149] In the wake of the shooting, DC Comics delayed the release of Batman Incorporated #3,[150] which includes a scene in which a female Leviathan agent brandishes a handgun in a classroom full of children while disguised as a schoolteacher.

[152] Hans Zimmer, who composed the soundtrack for The Dark Knight Rises, recorded a choral song entitled "Aurora" in honor of the victims.

"[166] In response, Cinemark's representation filed a motion to dismiss on September 27, 2012, on the grounds that there was no liability under Colorado law for failure to prevent an unforeseeable criminal act.

On October 30, 2012, the court hearing the criminal case against Holmes denied a motion by some of the survivors that would have let them access sealed evidence for review in their civil action against the theater chain.

[173] In a separate lawsuit in state court, Cinemark was sued by families of the victims, who alleged the theater should have taken greater measures to prevent such a shooting.

[181] The shooting reignited the political debate on gun control, with one issue being the "easy access" Holmes had two semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines, which were banned federally from 1994 to 2004.

Despite heavy criticism from families and loved ones of victims,[187][188] the theater was not demolished and reopened to the public after cleaning and renovation on January 25, 2013, nearly 6 months after the shooting.