Report: Alleged Colorado Shooter Told Peer He ‘Wanted to Kill People’

A deep dig into the background of San Diego-native and accused Aurora, CO shooter James E. Holmes by The New York Times paints the picture of a mentally ill, awkward loner who, as the clock wound down to the night of the deadly shooting, "was descending into a realm of darkness."

On the one hand he had a "quirky sense of humor," peers said, taking a class project at Westview High School near Rancho Peñasquitos into an unexpected, comical direction. On the other, he professed to liking hallucinogenic drugs, frequently gave no or one-word answers and told a fellow University of Colorado student he "wanted to kill people 'when his life was over,' " according to the Times report.

Holmes is accused of after opening fire during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises at an Aurora movie theater on July 20. The Times interviewed "more than a dozen people who knew or had contact with Mr. Holmes in the months before the attack." 

See the full Times article here.