Colorado shooter was a counselor at a Jewish summer camp

James Holmes, suspected of shooting innocent moviegoers at “The Dark Knight Rises” premiere in Colorado last week, worked as a counselor at a Jewish summer camp four years ago, NBC News reported on Sunday.

On Friday, 12 people were killed and 58 were wounded in a shooting rampage at a movie theater in the city of Aurora, Colorado.

Holmes, now 24, worked as a cabin counselor at Camp Max Strus when he was 20. The camp was run by Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters in Los Angeles County. Holmes was reportedly responsible for the care of 10 children in the non-denominational camp.

"His role was to ensure that these children had a wonderful camp experience by helping them learn confidence, self-esteem and how to work in small teams to effect positive outcomes," the CEO of the Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters, Randy Schwab, told the Los Angeles Times. "That summer provided the kids a wonderful camp experience without incident."

"On behalf of Camp Max Straus I want to offer our deepest sympathies and condolences," Schwab told NBC.

Meanwhile, descriptions that have surfaced of Holmes following the incident have been eerily reminiscent of descriptions of past murderers who have often been described as "quiet" and "introverted."

Anyone who read main headlines across the U.S. and around the world on Sunday would have the impression that, until this past weekend, Holmes was a guy who really did not attract too much attention.

The biggest mystery surrounding Holmes, who recently dropped out of the neuroscience doctoral program at University of Colorado-Denver, was why he would have put on a gas mask and shot dozens of people early Friday in a suburban Denver movie theater, as police allege.

Holmes grew up in San Diego. His mother, Arlene, has been a nurse for over 30 years and his father, Robert, is a software company manager. In high school, he was generally known as "Jimmy." At one point he had quit the soccer team to focus on his studies.

Julie Adams, whose son, Taylor, played soccer with Holmes in high school, told the Denver Post on Saturday: "I could tell you a lot about every single kid on that team except for him ... He was more aloof."

Holmes continued with his studies after high school and graduated with honors with a degree in neuroscience from the University of California Rivderdale in 2010. Despite his academic excellence, he chose not to stand out and avoided going to his college graduation ceremony.

After graduation, Holmes moved to Aurora in Colorado, and enrolled last year in a neuroscience Ph.D. program at the University of Colorado-Denver. However, he was in the process of withdrawing, said school officials, who did not provide a reason. Later, the school said in a statement that he left the program in June this year. He is suspected of having begun planning his rampage and acquiring guns and ammunition around this time.

As part of the advanced program in Denver, Holmes was listed as having made a presentation in May about micro-DNA biomarkers in a class named "Biological Basis of Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders."

In academic achievement, "he was at the top of the top," recalled Riverside Chancellor Timothy P. White.

Holmes concentrated his study on "how we all behave," White added. "It's ironic and sad."

Holmes did not have a criminal record, with the exception of a single speeding ticket from 2011. A research assistant who worked with Holmes for a short period recounted that "although he was a loner and spent most of his time on his computer playing games, I would never guess he had the ability to do that."

In the age of widespread social media, no trace of Holmes could be found on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter or anywhere on the Web.

Somehow, this diligent student and quiet neighbor suddenly dyed his hair red and called himself "the Joker," the villain from the Batman movies, according to New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Authorities say Holmes arrived at the theater dressed in black, outfitted in a gas mask, ballistic helmet, vest and leggings, black tactical gloves and protectors on his throat and groin. He was armed with an assault-style rifle, a shotgun and a handgun.

Police said he started his attack by tossing two gas canisters into the theater, where he had bought a ticket for the midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises," the much anticipated last installment of the Batman trilogy.

A federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Holmes bought four guns from retailers over the past two months.

Holmes bought his first Glock pistol in Aurora on May 22. Six days later, he picked up a Remington shotgun in Denver. About two weeks later, he bought a .223 caliber Smith & Wesson rifle in Thornton, Colorado, and then a second Glock in Denver on July 6, 13 days before the shooting, the official said.

A high-volume drum magazine was attached to the rifle, an assault weapon, the official said. Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said that a 100-round drum magazine for the rifle was recovered from the scene.

"I'm told by experts that with that drum magazine, he could have gotten off 50 to 60 rounds, even if it was semi-automatic, within one minute," Oates said at a news conference. "And as far as we know, it was a pretty rapid pace of fire in that theater."

Police found jars of chemicals in Holmes' booby-trapped apartment with wires nearby, the law enforcement official said.

When he surrendered meekly in the movie house parking lot, Holmes told authorities what he'd done at his residence in the Denver suburb of Aurora, the third most populous city in Colorado.

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