Aurora, Colo., shooting suspect James Holmes came to the
attention of the threat assessment committee
at the University of Colorado but no further
action was taken because he left the school more than a month before the attack
that killed 12 and injured 58, sources told ABC News.
ABC News has learned that Dr. Lynne Fenton, the psychiatrist who was
treating Holmes, 24, at the school, was also a key member of the university's threat assessment team. The group of experts were
responsible for protecting the school from potentially violent students.
KMGH-TV, ABC News' affiliate in
Denver, reported exclusively that, according to sources, by early June, Fenton
had informed other members of the team about her concerns regarding Holmes.
But on June 10 -- three days after
Holmes bought an assault weapon and added it to his already
growing arsenal -- he suddenly told the university that he was dropping out of
the neurosciences doctoral program with no explanation.
KMGH-TV reported last week that he'd purchased
the weapon hours after failing a key oral exam.
On Monday, Holmes was charged with
24 counts of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting during a midnight
screening of "The Dark Knight Rises."
Twelve people were killed and 58
were wounded in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Each death carried two
separate murder charges, one for showing premeditation and one for showing
extreme indifference to life. Both of the charges carry the death penalty as a
possible sentence.
Sources have told KMGH-TV that the
threat assessment team never had a formal meeting and never intervened,
believing that it had no control over Holmes once he'd left the university.
Documents uncovered by ABC News show that Fenton also wrote the school's policy
on threat assessment.
Michael Carrigan, chairman of the CU
board of regents, told KMGH that he did not
know if Holmes had ever been discussed by the threat assessment team.
"It's the first I'm hearing about this," he said in a phone
interview.
A CU spokeswoman declined comment to
KMGH on Fenton or any threat-team team actions, citing a gag order.
Don Elliman, the university's
chancellor, said last week that "to the best of our knowledge, at this
point, we did everything we think we could have done."
But experts said today that Holmes'
departure should have been a red alert.
"You know, I think that's the
signal that you should intensify your efforts, not walk away," said Barry
Spodak, a threat assessment expert. "Under those circumstances, most
well-trained threat assessment teams would have gone into action."
(Violence Risk Threat Assessment: Peruse "Safer Schools' page on left)
(Violence Risk Threat Assessment: Peruse "Safer Schools' page on left)
