Aurora shooting Suspect James Holmes Makes first Appearance in Court

Suspected Colorado gunman James Holmes made his first appearance in court Monday, orange-haired and seemingly bewildered, to face charges after one of America's worst-ever mass shootings.

 

Wearing a maroon prison jumpsuit, the 24-year-old Holmes stared blankly as lawyers discussed procedural arrangements with the Arapahoe County judge. He was later led out after the hearing, which lasted less than 10 minutes.

He is accused of shooting dead 12 people and wounding 58 others at a cinema Friday in Aurora, outside Denver, as young moviegoers packed the midnight screening of the latest Batman film, "The Dark Knight Rises.

Holmes is scheduled to appear in court again next..

Monday to face arraignment and be formally charged over the massacre, and was ordered to remain in custody with no bail allowed.

A number of family members of victims were in the court in Centennial, and stared at Holmes throughout the brief appearance. He did not return their gazes, according to CNN.

It was impossible to determine if Holmes' behavior was the result of stress, drug-induced or perhaps an act.

Prosecutors are expected to seek the death penalty, although experts note that only one person has been executed in Colorado since 1976, ABC and local media reported.

Police say there is no doubt Holmes committed the atrocity. He gave himself up outside the cinema, still clad in the full body armor that witnesses described the gunman wearing as the bullets flew inside.

The gunman emerged from a fire exit after the film began and threw two canisters of noxious gas into the crowd.

After firing one round directly into the air with a pump-action shotgun, he then began shooting people at random with a military-style assault rifle that could dispatch 50 to 60 rounds a minute, witnesses said.

Holmes has been held in solitary confinement since his arrest.

 New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Holmes had painted his hair reddish orange and claimed he was the Joker, Batman's sworn enemy.

 According to media reports and at least one witness, the gunman might have killed more people had his AR-15 assault rifle not jammed.Yahoo reports.