Aurora Shooter In Court! [NSFW]

Staring into the abyss.

White terrorist James Holmes is appearing in court and the families of each victim affected by the shooting at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater. The preliminary hearing is a chance for family members to face the killer.

Holmes being held in confinement. His mass shooting and the Sandy Hook shooting sparked national debate on firearms and gun control.

President Barack Obama ordered a review on how to tackle gun control. He asked Vice President Joe Biden to gather up supporters of gun rights and gun control to figure out a winnable solution.

Jon Blunk was gunned down in July after he and his wife attended the Batman: The Dark Knight Rises movie.

This week alone, we've seen the unhinged continue their path to insanity. This week, conspiracy kook Alex Jones didn't help his case for gun rights. He practically embarrassed himself on CNN last night. Wayne LaPierre and Larry Pratt, are proven to be WHITE EXTREMISTS by their flagrant attacks on the president and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California). Feinstein, was a survivor of a mass shooting that killed Harvey Milk, a gay councilman who championed equal rights in San Francisco. The NRA and Gun Owner's Association are working overtime to rile up White extremist into believing the president is coming for their guns.

The Denver Post details what's going on in Aurora. The boombox would blare the music. Holmes was trying to booby trap his apartment for another massive attack on police if they should find him.

The music would draw the attention. The attention would jostle the door. The door would tug the fishing line.

The line would topple the thermos full of glycerin, and the glycerin would mix in the frying pan with the potassium permanganate to create a flame.

The flame would set the petroleum-soaked carpet on fire. The fire would light the fuses. The fuses would detonate the jars filled with homemade thermite, smokeless powder and stove-top napalm mixed with bullets. The white ammonium chloride sprinkled across the floor by the front door, that was just to scare the police.

And that, Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Garrett Gumbinner testified Tuesday in the second day of the Aurora theater shooting preliminary hearing, was one of two active explosive systems investigators found inside suspect James Holmes' apartment.

There was one more, Gumbinner said, that involved 6-inch fireworks shells, a commercial pyrotechnic firing box atop the refrigerator, another boombox, a toy car and a remote control placed by a Dumpster.

"The whole apartment would have either exploded or caught fire," Gumbinner said.

It didn't, but only because neighbors who heard the loud music just after midnight on July 20 didn't bother to bang on the door.

Gumbinner was one of two detectives who interviewed Holmes the afternoon following the early-morning shooting, hoping to gain insight into how to safely defuse the explosive tangle they say he created.

"He said he rigged his apartment to explode and catch fire," Gumbinner said. "He said he was hoping to send resources to his apartment rather than the theater. By resources I mean law enforcement."

Prosecutors honed their attention Tuesday on the devilish, meticulous plotting they say was behind the July 20 attack that killed 12 and wounded at least 58 others.

President Barack Obama meets with shooting victims in 2012 during the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado.

In addition to Gumbinner, an Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent detailed the 16 separate purchases Holmes is accused of making to acquire the four guns; 6,295 rounds of rifle, shotgun and handgun ammunition; dozens of gun magazines; ballistic gear; weapon slings; two laser sights; two tear-gas canisters; hundreds of practice targets; explosive chemicals; fireworks supplies; handcuffs; and a military first aid dressing.

ATF agent Steven Beggs said the purchases — all from online retailers or the Gander Mountain and Bass Pro Shops sporting goods stores in the metro area — began on May 10 and ended July 14. There were five purchases, alone, in the first week of July.

An Aurora detective also testified about two online dating profiles Holmes placed on the websites Match.com and Adult Friend Finder. Det. Tom Welton said in both, Holmes asked the same question: "Will you visit me in prison?"

James Holmes official mugshot from Arapahoe County.

But, as prosecutors sought to establish premeditation in the attack, Holmes' attorneys also revealed more of their strategy.

After prosecutors finished questioning Beggs, defense attorney Tamara Brady asked him whether it was illegal, for instance, to buy body armor or tear gas. Beggs said it wasn't in Colorado.

"Is there any process in place in Colorado," Brady persisted, "to screen out whether a severely mentally ill person is purchasing these items?"

Beggs said no.

In afternoon testimony, Aurora homicide Det. Craig Appel testified that police did not request a blood sample from Holmes after he was arrested. He said Holmes' pupils were wide, but that "I saw now indication that he was under the influence of anything."

But under defense questioning, he said Holmes' behavior was at times odd while he was under observation.

Paper bags had been placed over his hands to preserve evidence and Holmes played with them as though they were puppets, Appel said. He also tried to place a staple into an electrical socket, he said.

Appel also testified that investigators collected six shotgun hulls, 204 live .223 shells and 65 .223 casings from the theater. Most of the casing were found near the door to Theater 9. The .223 ammunition is what is typically used in an AR-15 type weapon. Appel said some of the bullets went through the wall of auditorium and struck people in Theater 8.

Appel also said iPhone evidence shows Holmes purchased his ticket to the midnight showing of "A Dark Knight Rises" through Fandango. The ticket was issued for Theater 8, however patrons are allowed to move between theaters, so someone who purchased a ticket for Theater 8 could watch the movie in Theater 9, he said.

In earlier testimony Tuesday, 911 calls from inside Theater 9 were played in the courtroom.

A weeping 13-year-old girl can be heard with the chaos of the theater behind her.

"My two cousins, they're sitting on the floor ... one of them" is not breathing, the girl told the dispatcher.

The Century 16 reopens despite controversy. Many complain that it's just too soon to continue business as usual. 

The teen's cousins were 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan and Veronica's mother, Ashley Moser.

The girl tells the 911 dispatcher who was trying to give CPR instructions, "I can't hear ... it's too loud ... I can't hear you. I'm so sorry."

Veronica was one of those who died. Moser was partially paralyzed.

The first 911 call came from Kevin Quinonez at 12:38 a.m., about 18 minutes after the movie "The Dark Knight Rises" started.

In the 27-second call, Aurora Police Det. Randy Hansen said he counted 30 booms, which were gunfire.

Quinonez' voice is frequently drowned out by the sound of the shots, but he can be heard saying, "There's some guy ... after us."

Lives were lost on July 20, 2012. The Aurora movie shooting was one of worst shooting in the nation's history.

Within a 10-minute period, dispatchers received 41 calls from the theater.

Some victims and family members had seats in the courtroom Tuesday and listened to the tapes as they were played. One woman covered her face with a handkerchief.

Beggs said that on June 17 Holmes bought shooting targets.

The new district attorney for the 18th Judicial District, George Brauchler, was among those in the courtroom Tuesday. He was sworn in Monday.

During the first day of testimony Monday, Aurora police officers who arrived at the theater early July 20 testified about apprehending Holmes and helping victims.

Rita Paulina, 45, whose arm was shattered in the attack, and her husband, Anggiat Situmeang, who carried her from the theater, went to the hearing Monday but refused to go into the courtroom, instead watching on a television feed set up for victims and families in another room.

The stories they heard triggered painful memories and stirred their emotions, said Situmeang, 47. As police recounted the scene they found at the theater, Situmeang recalled, "my tears were coming out."

When Paulina saw Holmes she grew frightened that he would leap up and commit mayhem in the court itself. "Our minds go back to six months ago," Situmeang said.

Sam Soudani, father of 23-year-old victim Farrah Soudani, said Monday that his daughter attended with several friends and co-workers from Red Robin.

Farrah Soudani was hit by an explosive device in the theater, her father said. She lost her spleen and a kidney and had a big gash in her side

"I'm the father. I'm here to hold her hand. Personally, I don't want to be here."

"She had a really hard time looking at him," he said of Holmes. "He has no emotion. He's like a robot."

Prosecutors hope to show there is enough evidence against Holmes for him to stand trial on 166 counts of murder, attempted murder and other crimes for the shootings at the Century Aurora 16 movie theater that left 12 dead and at least 58 injured.

John Ingold: 303-954-1068, jingold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/john_ingold

Jessica Fender: 303-954-1244, jfender@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Oh_Fender
Denver Post staff writers Electa Draper and Tom McGhee contributed to this report.