US cinema hall shooting massacre

A masked gunman on Friday turned the much-awaited premiere of the latest Batman movie in a US cinema hall into a "horrific" bloodbath, spraying the audience with bullets killing 12 people and leaving 59 others injured.

The gunman, dressed in black, wearing a gas mask and a full body armour, marched into the packed theatre in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, Colorado, during a midnight showing of 'The Dark Knight Rises' starring Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway.

He entered the theatre through the emergency exit lobbing two canisters that instantly filled the theatre with smoke and then used his automatic rifle to carry out a macabre dance of death.

Citing FBI, American TV networks said the gunman has been identified as 24-year-old James Holmes from Aurora.

Police said 10 people were killed at the scene, while they put the overall death toll to at least 12.

Earlier police had said at least 14 people had died but later revised the toll.

The US Defence Department said that some members of the military were either killed or wounded in the shooting.A shocked President Barack Obama called the shooting "horrific", after being told about it shortly before 5:30 am (1530 IST).

Obama, who was in Florida cut short his re-election campaign trip to the US state on Saturday to return to Washington after the shooting incident, spokesperson Jen Psaki said.

"Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado ... my administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time," Obama said.