Colorado shooting suspect ‘sent writings to university’

From BBC report

The accused in the Colorado shootings sent writings about shooting people to his university, US media report.

University of Colorado Denver confirmed it had received a suspicious package on Monday that it gave to the authorities, but they did not identify the sender.

US news outlets reported the suspect, neuroscience drop-out James Holmes, mailed writings that included crude drawings of people being shot.

The reports emerged as the first funeral of the 12 victims was held.

Gordon Cowden, 51, was the oldest of those killed. His teenage children were also in the theatre during the shootings but emerged uninjured.

James Holmes, 24, is being held over the massacre, which happened at a midnight showing of the new Batman film in Aurora, near Denver, on Friday.

‘Illustrations’

Fox News, citing an unnamed law enforcement source, was first to report that the suspect had allegedly posted a notebook with details of the shootings to a psychiatrist at the university.

Aurora shooting victims face years of healing

According to the network, the notebook contained “full details about how he was going to kill people, drawings of what he was going to do in it, and drawings and illustrations of the massacre”.

Other outlets also quoted unnamed sources as saying that Mr Holmes had sent to the university a package containing writings about shooting people.

But the college itself appeared to contradict media reports that the package had been sent before the massacre, and that it had remained unopened for days.

Officials at the university’s Anschutz Medical Campus said it had received a suspicious package on Monday that was immediately investigated and turned over to authorities within hours of its delivery.

The FBI refused to comment on the record about the reports, a day after a judge issued a gagging order limiting what officials can say about the case.

The suspect was a neuroscience PhD student at the college until he took steps last month to leave the programme.

Many remain in hospital after the shootings, with several in critical condition.

Denver-area hospitals that are treating survivors said on Wednesday they would eliminate or limit medical bills for the casualties, some of whom had no medical insurance and faced huge costs.