An unborn baby is clinging to life after its mother was shot three times by the Batman massacre gunman.
Ashley Moser, 25, was hit in the abdomen and twice in the throat when “demonic” James Holmes opened fire during a mid-night premiere of the film, The Dark Knight Rises, in Colorado.
She was sitting next to her six-year-old daughter, Veronica Moser-Sullivan, who was one of 12 people killed by Holmes.
Moser’s brother, Robert Sierra, told the Daily Mail: “I don’t know how, but she still has the baby. Yesterday I was told she had lost it and today it’s okay. It’s a miracle as she was shot in the stomach.’
Sierra, 32, described Veronica as an “angel who was ripped away from us for no reason”. He said: “Veronica wanted to be a princess, everybody loved her. Her laughter was infectious, when she laughed everybody laughed.
“She was only young but she had ambitions and goals, she wanted to go to college.
“She would have so much fun playing, all you would hear through the house was her laughing and giggling.”
On Sunday night it was claimed that the breakup of a relationship could have sent Holmes over the edge - the first sign yet of a possible motive.
Aurora police chief Dan Oates gave the hint as to what could have caused Holmes to carry out what Colorado governor John Hickenlooper called a “diabolical, demonic” act. Mr Oates said: “I’ve heard one morsel of information about a relationship that may or may not be true.”
On Sunday night fresh details emerged of the heroics of those who died in the massacre, including Alex Teves, 24, who threw his body over girlfriend Amanda Lindgren to protect her. He died as a result of his injuries, but she lived.
Matt McQuinn, 27, and Jonathan Blunk, 26, also died using their bodies as human shields to protect their girlfriends. About 30 people who were shot remain in hospital, with 11 in a critical condition.
Holmes, 24, is being held in the Arapahoe County jail on a charge of first-degree murder, where he reportedly has shown no remorse and “thinks he is in a movie”.
He will appear in court today to be arraigned where he will come face to face with 35 of his victims’ relatives, who will be sitting in the public gallery.
The neuroscience graduate is said to have spent months planning his attack with “calculation and deliberation”.
Police say he ordered 6 000 rounds of ammunition and bought four guns before donning riot gear and a gas mask and opening fire at the Century 16 cinema in Aurora shortly after midnight on Friday morning.
The massacre could have been even worse. His A-15 assault rifle jammed, meaning he had to switch to a less powerful weapon.
Fresh details have emerged about Holmes’s past, including how in 2008 he worked at a summer camp as a mentor.
Randy Schwab, spokesman for Camp Max Straus near Los Angeles, said Holmes was “responsible for the care and guidance of a group of approximately ten children” during the eight weeks he was there.
A former friend said that as far back as last summer Holmes was obsessed with internet role-playing games. He said: “James seemed like he wanted to be in the game and be one of the characters. It seemed that for him being online was more important to him than real-life.
“He must have lost his sense of reality, how else can you shoot dozens of people you don’t know?”
Asked about Holmes, Sierra was barely able to contain his anger. He said: “Even if he got the death sentence it would not bring Veronica back. We will miss her so much.
“I have nothing good to say about him. They should have shot him on sight. Who would want to keep somebody alive who does something like that?”
Investigators are continuing to examine Holmes’s apartment, having disabled the 30 bombs he set up to kill police.
He had hoped to lure officers to his flat by setting a timer to play loud music as he was carrying out his rampage. - Daily Mail