12 dead in Aurora Colorado Century 16 Movie Theaters shooting, police say.

A shooting at a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado early today has left at least 12 people dead and at least 50 people injured, authorities confirmed.

Police now have apprehended a suspect who has been described as an adult male and have recovered a gun after the shooting at approximately 12:30 a.m. CT at the Century 16 Movie Theaters at the Aurora Town Center in the Denver suburb.

Witnesses said that the man appeared at the front of the theater with a rifle, handgun and gas mask. Witnesses said that he then threw a canister that released some kind of gas, after which a hissing sound ensued. The gunman then opened fire on the crowd packed into the early moing screening of the film, according to people in the theater at the time.

Horror: People gather outside the Century 16 movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado at the scene of a mass shooting - a masked gunman shot dead 12 people and wounded 50 others

 

An eyewitness video showed a man (left) in a striped shirt leaving the cinema in a daze with blood on his clothing, while other people stood around in confusion, unsure of the horror which had unfolded

Crime scene: Police officers took witness statements - the 6ft tall man, dressed in black and wearing a gas mask opened fire at the showing of The Dark Knight Rises and set off a smoke or tear gas bomb

An explosive device was also found inside the theater. Police are unsure of whether the device, which investigators are calling a bomb, was already in place or whether it was thrown into the crowd.

Ambulances rushed to the scene as audience members fled the theater. Aurora's police chief said that he cannot elaborate on women or children injured or dead in the shooting.

Anxious: Film-goers wait nervously across the street as Aurora Police strung crime scene tape around the parking lot encircling the movie theatre

Emergency: Outside the Swedish Medical Center ER where two people are in a critical condition - local hospitals have been alerted to a 'mass casualty incident'

Once apprehended the gunman told authoritiess that there are explosives in his North Aurora, Colo. residence. Investigators rushed to the apartment complex, which was quickly evacuated and now under lockdown.

Victim: Jessica Ghawi, an aspiring TV presenter, was one of the 12 people shot dead in the massacre. She was tweeting about her excitement at seeing the film until moments before her death

Though police have said that they believe the shooter was acting alone, they are now taking precautions and checking all cars in the parking lot and clearing near the theater.

There is believed to be no connection to Islamic terrorism, per a senior official monitoring the situation in Washington. Investigators are now interviewing friends and associates of the suspect to get a sense of the man's background.