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I don't know about the bomb part. I have serious doubts about these "bombs," and the fact that there was no explosion leads me to believe whatever he constructed would not have worked. There's a reason bombmakers are the rock stars of terrorism, and that's because making bombs is hard, especially for those prone to making mistakes. The authorities have a vested interest in overstating the functionality of whatever was in there.

He didn't have "automatic weapons," so I'm more suspicious of this "marine" than of some conspiracy to arm Holmes.

I've spent more on real automatic weapons in one day than it cost this kid to buy these guns, which are common and easily purchable by anyone with a clean record and a credit card.

It doesn't take any combat skill to walk into a dark theater full of distracted people and shoot at them. I can't imagine any kind of killing that takes LESS skill.

I don’t know if it is a hoax, but I believe the letter is wrong.

Each of the weapons can be purchased with no problems. It’s not an ‘aresenal’. It’s not like he had full auto uzi’s. He had a remington 870 which I can buy today. An AR-15, which I have. And a Glock 40, which is also easy to find and get. He got ammo for them. Easy. I can go to walmart and get ammo at any time.

The bomb stuff, IDK, but I believe you could probably find stuff on the internet. I haven’t looked for it, but I would assume.

It wasn’t sophisicated. It’s not like he repeled into the theater and then disapeared in a cloud of smoke. The guy faked a phone call. Walked out. propped the door. Went to his car. Got his stuff and came back. Finished. Walked back out to his car and got arrested.

In regards to this Marine’s photo, it’s probably ‘real’ and probably incorrect.

Marines are teamwork-oriented folks that focus on excelling at tasks in the context of an overall team objective within the given rules. They carry a lot of programming as far as ‘how things are done’, both tactically and as far as what you might call ‘fighting fair.’ They view everything through the lens of Marine philosophy. While I have the utmost respect for the Marines in their ability to work in a highly proficient and synchronized manner, thinking out of the box ain’t their strong suit.

This shooter is an asymmetric warfare poster child. He took the best available technology for a limited amount of money (probably closer to 5k than 20), utilized terrain to his utmost advantage (dark clothing while in darkness, light and noise distraction from movie, room full of obstacles and only two feasible exits, homemade chemical bombs, element of surprise), and then surrendered, knowing the police’s ROE would prohibit them from killing him once he did.

For whatever his point was, he went about it very efficiently.

He’s not crazy by any means; far from it. This took quite a bit of research, forethought and precision. Nothing a dedicated and resourceful mind couldn’t pull off, but also nothing that a ‘normal’ person would consider. Having the will to shoot 50+ people in cold blood is the factor the Marine can’t fathom, but it’s the one that makes all other things possible. Once you have the will, the means are very available to an intelligent and patient man.

Not to fully dismiss the Marine’s opinion, but it’s out of his field of experience. As a former intel guy with SOF experience and more than a long weekend dealing with our Islamist friends, I’m not unused to red cell operations and know quite a few people who still are in the game. Looking at things from an enemy’s standpoint is a different way of thinking and viewing the world. The easiest mistake is to assume they are a mirror reflection of you. They’re not.

Being strong enough to take a hill against armed opponents isn’t the same skillset as being able to spot weakness in a much larger opponent and capitalize on it. This Colorado shooter isn’t some kind of super killing machine; just a dedicated man who denies himself any limits but understands the limits of others (terrain, confusion, fear, police protocol) intrinsically. Marines are creatures of objectives and limits, and have a hard time fathoming people that have none.