Dark Knight Suspect Planned Attack: Officials

James Holmes appears to have planned his assault on Dark Knight fans for some time. Law enforcement officials say he began buying weapons from gun stores around Aurora, Colorado, two months ago, and came to the Dark Knight Rises premiere fully stocked—with a Smith & Wesson AR-15 assault-style rifle, a Remington 870 single-barrel pump shotgun, and two 40-caliber Glock handguns, NBC News reports.

He also wore black tactical gloves, throat and groin protectors, a tactical vest, and a helmet and gas mask, they say. He apparently bought a ticket for the late-night screening and joined the crowd, then propped open an exit door during the movie. Dark Knight Rises director Christopher Nolan has released a statement condemning the attack, reports TMZ: "Movies are one of the great American art forms," he said, and "the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me." See Nolan's full statement. (More James Holmes stories.)