Colorado Shootings Suspect James Holmes Tries To Injure Self, Hospitalized

James Holmes, the accused in the Colorado Theater shootings, was taken to the hospital Wednesday for an unspecified medical condition that has rendered him unfit to attend a courtroom trial scheduled two days later, his lawyers said in the court. However, the local media reports suggest that Holmes tried to harm himself.

In a petition to the court seeking an adjournment of the hearing, his attorney said in ambiguous terms that the accused was medically unfit to be present for the hearing. The attorney did not go into the details.

"What occurred was midday yesterday. We were informed of a situation that involved a trip to a hospital," Holmes's attorney Tamara Brady said in the court, adding, "It's not as simple as a migraine and it's not something that will resolve by tomorrow morning,” the Associated Press reported.
The hearing was scheduled for Thursday to discuss pretrial motions regarding the Aurora theater shootings case.

Holmes, 24, is accused of killing twelve people and injuring 58 others in a shooting rampage at the midnight show of the batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," at a theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colo., in July.

Quoting law enforcement sources, local television station CBS4 said that Holmes had made multiple “half-hearted attempts” to kill himself in the past few days. According to the reports, he threw himself on the prison wall once and in another instance he had jumped off his bed.

ABC7 television channel reported that Homes was hospitalized after he injured himself by pounding his head on the walls of his cell.

His lawyers have not disclosed Holmes' current condition or the details regarding his illness in his petition, citing legal, medical and psychological privileges.

"As a result of developments over the past 24 hours, Mr. Holmes is in a condition that renders him unable to be present in court for tomorrow's hearing," Holmess' lawyers wrote in the delay motion.

The prosecution objected to the request and demanded full information regarding the suspect's condition.

"It is not clear whether it is claimed he is suffering from a physical medical condition, a mental condition, whether he is suffering from a negative emotional reaction to his circumstances, or anything other than he has some kind of 'condition,'" prosecutors wrote in their response, Reuters reported.

The court has allowed the delay motion by Holmes's attorneys and set a new hearing for Dec. 10.

Holmes's psychological state had been an issue and his lawyers said that he was mentally ill. His first appearance in the trial court July 23 - in which he appeared dazed and delusionary - sparked rumors about his state of mental unbalance.

It was not yet clear whether he would plead insanity, which many believe is his only chance to escape from a possible death penalty or life term conviction.

Holmes was charged on multiple counts of first-degree murder, 116 counts of attempted murder and a count of possession of explosives.