What We Know About James Holmes - Colorado Shooting

Police say James Holmes is the man responsible for
a deadly mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater.

UPDATE 1:30 p.m. -- The Poway Unified School District has issued a statement, confirming reports that James Holmes was a graduate of Westview High School, Class of 2006.

"On behalf of the Poway Unified School District, Superintendent [John] Collins joins the rest of the nation in offering our deepest condolences to the victims and their families," the statement read.

UPDATE 1:00 p.m. -- According to University of Colorado Hospital spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery, James Holmes was studying neuroscience in a Ph.D. program at the University of Colorado-Denver graduate school. Montgomery said Holmes enrolled in the neuroscience program in 2011 and was in the process of withdrawing. She said she did not know why he had decided to withdraw.

UPDATE 11:30 a.m. -- More details are emerging about James Holmes, the suspected shooter in Thursday night's movie theater massacre in Colorado.

Lt. Andra Brown of the San Diego Police Department briefed reporters outside James Holmes' mother's home Friday. Brown confirmed Holmes attended high school in San Diego before going to Colorado to pursue additional studies. Brown would not name either school.

San Diego media outlets have reported Holmes attended high school at Westview in Carmel Valley and graduated in 2006.

Brown said Holmes' mother was in her house, but that his father has been "escorted from the home." She did not elaborate further.

"The police department is just here to preserve the peace and to make sure the privacy of the family is still respected," said Brown. "That's the only reason why the San Diego police department is here."

Brown also provided a statement to reporters from the family.

"Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy," the statement read. "We ask that the media respect our privacy at this difficult time ... We are still trying to process this info and appreciate that people respect our privacy."

Margie Aguilar, who has lived for 10 years on the same San Diego block as Holmes' family briefly spoke to HuffPost

"I feel heartbroken," she said, adding that her children went to high school with the suspected shooter. "They're [the Holmes family] victims in this, too. I want to respect their privacy.

"Everybody is in shock and devastated."

Police are still trying to clear the suspect's Aurora apartment. According to police, explosives found inside the unit are "very sophisticated" and could take some time to disarm.

The U.S. Army, in response to speculation that Holmes had served in the military, issued a statement that said they found "no evidence" he had served in the Army."

EARLIER -- An initial portrait of James Holmes, the man allegedly responsible for the mass shooting spree in a Colorado movie theater, is slowly emerging.

According to the police, Holmes lives in an apartment in Aurora, approximately five miles from the Century 16 movie theater where he gunned down at least 12 people and wounded 38 others during a midnight screening of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises."

Authorities at this hour are cautiously entering the apartment. The suspect, according to police, said he had explosives inside. The FBI has approximately 100 agents at the scene assisting with the investigation.

The FBI has revealed Holmes is a white male who is 6 feet, 3 inches tall and 24 years old, with a birth date of Dec. 13, 1987. Authorities have found no significant criminal record and no terrorist affiliations. Investigators suspect he acted alone.

A motive in the shooting is not yet known.

A San Diego, Calif., woman who identified herself as Holmes' mother told ABC News she had not yet been contacted by authorities. She said she was unaware of the shooting and expressed concern that her son may have been involved.

"You have the right person," she said, apparently speaking on instinct and not second-guessing her son would be involved. "I need to call the police ... I need to fly out to Colorado."

Holmes reportedly had Tennessee license plates on the vehicle he was driving at the time of the shooting, but a connection to that state remains unclear. He was arrested next to the vehicle, without incident, after the shooting spree ended. Police say he was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and gas mask at the time of the shooting and was armed with two long guns and a handgun.

As updates continue to trickle in, MSNBC reports that a survivor of the massacre in Colorado said she first thought the man dressed in black who entered through an exit door was part of the premier of the movie.