James E. Holmes

• identify the case you selected.
• Answer the following questions:
  • Based on your research, do you think that your selected topic was a case of domestic terrorism? Support your answer with evidence.
  • What is the sociological impact of domestic terrorism?
• Explain using evidence.

Selected case

 

Case 1: Colorado Movie Theater: James E. Holmes

On July 20, 2012, James Holmes, carrying several guns, dressed in body armor, and with his hair dyed orange, walked into a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, during the midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises. He tossed tear gas grenades and then fired his weapons into the audience, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others. Minutes later Holmes was arrested near his car in the theater parking lot. Arriving at his home, investigators found his apartment rigged with homemade explosives. Holmes claimed insanity, but in 2015 he was convicted and given 12 life sentences for the murders.