we want to bring in pierre thomas and brad garrett. ect is in custody right now, 24-year-old james holmes and, pierre, pictures of the suspect's mother. she was being escorted out for questioning. what more do we know at this point about james holmes, about who he was acting with, if anyone and anything more about his background. >> reporter: again, so far the early investigation has shown no nexus to international terrorism or domestic terrorism, law enforcement officials are looking at his criminal background, as well. so far nothing significant has turned up. i'm struck this morning talking to law enforcement how they're echoing what we're hearing from the witnesses that this was a premeditated well thought out massacre and that's what law enforcement officials are calling it. they said he had an assault-style rifle, a shotgun and two pistols and came to do what he did. >> and, pierre, starting to learn a little more about how he was apprehended in the back parking lot. >> reporter: yes, my sources are telling me that as he tried to

our senior correspondent pierre thomas on the case.ed anything additional about the background of this gunman? we may have lost him. we have a team of reporters and producers there trying to get the latest information. so we want you to stay tuned to hear -- here to abc, "good morning america." of course we'll have full coverage. we believe we have pierre back on the line. can you hear us? >> reporter: we have information that they are searching the suspect's car. they are checking it for evidence. also there's information that they're at his residence. there's concern about explosives obviously. and sources are, you know, again, right now doing a detailed background investigation on the individual. he is described to me as 24 years old, born in december of 1987. again, early indications are no nexus to terrorism according to the fbi. again, talking to associates, friends, relatives, trying to get a sense of this person's background. also trying to determine motive. >> thank you for that. and what pierre focused on -- thank you, live a

pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >> we'll have much more about the tragedy from colorado later in today's broadcast. >> including the victims and more from the vigil held for all of them last night. >>> in other news, a story that's been developing overnight. at least 12 people have died after their pickup truck slammed into two trees in texas. 22 people, including children, were packed into that truck that was equipped with an extended cab. they may have just crossed the border from mexico. >>> and our other big story this morning, penn state about to get slapped with penalties for turning a blind eye to child sex abuse allegations. >> the ncaa will announce the punishment this morning, a day after the university removed a statue of its legendary head football coach. more now from abc's tahman bradl bradley. >> reporter: joe paterno's iconic statue at penn state is gone. hauled away in shame yesterday behind a plastic blue tarp. many said it had to go. that a shrine to the legendary football coach was no longer appropriate. >> to a lot of people, it symbolizes the wrong things. >

tonight, abc's pierre thomas has news on what he bought and the way that anyone can buy thousands of rounds of ammunition no questions asked. >> reporter: abc news has learned today that authorities suspect that if all had gone according to the suspect's plan, the bombs in his apartment would have blown out the walls of his residence and possibly burned down the entire building. this fireball was created when police disposed of only part of the death trap. list had to overcome a room of bombs and a spaghetti of wires. once finally inside, police discovered evidence of an apparent obsession with batman. among paraphernalia, according to sources: a batman mask and a batman poster. but the most curial item found, a computer. police hope it will be the key to unlocking why holmes went on his murderous rampage. but today, many are left to wonder how holmes bought $1500 worth of ammunition and s.w.a.t. gear. if i wanted to buy gear, i could go online and buy helmets. most states, it's just as easy. he bought 60,000 rounds on this site. i'm trying to buy ten times that amount. i am up to pa

. >> he also said pierre thomas standing by, pierre, that they are still looking at this apartment which has been booby-trapped with incendiary and chemical devices and trip wires? >> reporter: diane, sources are describing an incredible scene, trip wires as the police chief talked about, chemicals, all kinds of devices. they think it may be days before they can get through the devices. they first have to figure out what exactly type of chemicals might he have been using so that will take some time, also how to get to it. i imagine they will be using some robots, different ways to get at some of these chemicals as you can see in that picture they were going in through the window as a way to be more careful to deal with the situation. >> okay, pierre and brian, the questioning has now begun at the press conference so let's rejoin it and see if the police chief has more. >> we immediately arrested the suspect in the back of the theater. from our first call to his apprehension was about a minute to a minute and a half. >> chief, habitually off-duty police officers working the theater. >> we

here's abc's pierre thomas. >> reporter: this young man in many ways appears to be your typical suburbanenager, a kid who loves skateboarding, with a facebook page. but today police charged he's a teenaged kingpin with six high schools working under him in an illegal marijuana business, earning potentially $20,000 a month. >> he is a very smart individual. >> reporter: the case is like something out the show "weeds." the young man lived here, in the neatly manicured neighborhood outside of cincinnati, and area better known for its chill and local landmark, the amusement park made famous by the brady bunch. police say the teen worked with this network of adult suppliers. the organization had more than 600 plants in suburban homes valued at $3 million. >> you don't typically see somebody who is that young selling that expensive and that high grade of marijuana. >> reporter: but authorities tell abc news, you shouldn't be surprised. the dea has given us exclusive access to huge marijuana farms secretly grown in our national forests and weed grown in people's backyards. >> that's all marijua

pierre thomas, also reporting the story four straight days. thank you. >>> now we move on to other big news today. the unprecedented punishment against the penn state football program for failing to protect children from sexual abuse from coach jerry sandusky. abc's senior national correspondent jim avila lays out the decision by the ncaa. >> reporter: the joe paterno legacy crumbling. his 900-pound bronze statue already again. and punishing him in the grave. snatching back 112 wins, everything since the scandal began. the last official victory. 1998. the quarterback that day, mike mcqueary, the key witness in his downfall. adding to the sting of dropping to first in college football wins to 12th. >> they shouldn't take the wins away. >> reporter: the ncaa imposing a painful fine of $60 million. but it's the sanctions against the once-proud program that hit penn state the hardest. no lucrative high exposure bowl games for four years. ten fewer scholarships per year. stunned players seen leaves a team meeting today will be allowed to transfer i

diane. >> pierre thomas reporting in tonight. and we also have news tonight about that nightmare flight on spirit airlines. supposed to be a simple five-hour flight it took 19 hours. the passengers in the pressure cooker caught the whole thing on tape. and now the faa is investigating. here's abc's senior national correspondent jim avila. >> reporter: a celebration. 14 frustrating hours in the making. >> when we landed, people were like singing hallelujah. literally. >> reporter: discount airline spirit, los angeles to ft. lauderdale, taking off at 10:56 pacific time, but approximately three hours into the flight, or 4:00 in the morning central time, forced to land because a passenger is out of control. >> this man was like touching everybody. he was going to the bathroom, kicking their walls. >> reporter: houston is the closest airport, but spirit doesn't normally fly there. so passengers wait for a gate on the tarmac for nearly two hours. with no air conditioning or comforts. >> we were in that plane for more than an hour, with

covering the week, pierre thomas of abc news, karen tumulty of "the washington post," jeff zeleny of "the new york times" and doyle doyle of the mcmanus of "the los angeles times." >> covering history as it happens, live from our nation's capital, this is "washington week" with gwen ifill, produced in association with "national journal." corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> this rock has never stood still. since 1875 we've been there for our clients through good times and bad. when their needs changed, we were there to meet them. through the years from insurance to invest management, from real estate to retirement solutions, we've developed new ideas for the financial challenges ahead. this rock has never stood still. and that's one thing that will never change. prudential. >> one line helps communities turn plans into reality. help shippers forge a path to prosperity, helps workers get back to work. one line is an engine for the economy and the future. norfolk southern, one line, infinite possibilities. >> corporate funding is also provided by boeing. additio

, correspondent pierre thomas, abc legal analyst dan abrams and dr. richard besser. pierre, you heard from the commissioner, no incident in philadelphia last night. is that what we're hearing from law enforcement across the country? >> so far, we're hearing, people are going to the movie, they're having a good time, no incidents. they were concerned on friday about copy-cats. the thing that struck me about all of this is that, we'll be having this conversation about another incident like this, it may take days or months, but you have a situation in this country, where there are so many weapons in this country and disturbed people. virginia tech, 2007, mass shooting, dozens killed. ft. hood, texas, 2009, another mass shooting. tucson, just last year. >> at the same time, you also cover homeland security, the counterterrorism beat, no connection, this is a person acting alone from everything we know, no connection to terrorism, but my question is, as you have been reporting, homeland security officials are most concerned about a lone wolf like this, perh

more now from abc's pierre thomas. >> reporter: you are about to watch an attempted child abduction inphiladelphia. as these two children turn the corner, the suspect gets out of the white car, stalks them and grabs the little girl. in the chilling video, you can see the suspect put his hand over the 10-year-old's mouth and try to snatch her off the street. he manhandles her, but falls down. then runs off. what scared him off? police think it was her 2-year-old brother screaming. >> i want this creep off our streets. immediately. >> reporter: philadelphia police are now in a race against time to catch him before he can strike again. >> we've got a person who is potentially very, very violent. we need to get him off the street. >> reporter: watch it again. the video may seem fuzzy to you, but to police, it's a golden clue and a gateway to tips. police quickly download the crime scene video and posted it on facebook and youtube. investigators are also tweeting about the crime. >> what we're looking for as investigators is for someone to pick up the phone and call it. >> reporter: it's pa

pierre thomas is reporting on the weapons and the bullets. the four guns, 6,000 rounds of ammunition. tonight, he has confirmed the semiautomatic assault rifle jammed in the attack. the question now, could the rampage have been far worse? here is pierre's report. >> reporter: the plan to massacre the crowds in a movie was unfolding flawlessly. there was fear and chaos as james holmes fired again and again with an assault rifle, and a gun magazine holding 100 rounds. sources tell abc news the smith and wesson high powered rifle jammed. the carnage could have been worse. more people survived, in part, sources say, because holmes was probably squeezing the trigger to quickly, the magazine malfunctioned. holmes was ready for war, also armed with a tactical shotgun. and abc news learned the pistol police recovered in the theater had an extended 40-round clip. police are urgently seeking a motive and may have gotten a critical break in the case. authorities recovered a computer from the booby trapped apartment and sources tell us more evidence of h

abc's pierre thomas working his sources again tonight. here's what he learned. >> reporter: james holmes quietly began building his arsenal two months ago. buying his first gun, a glock pistol at gander mountain guns in aurora. over the next several weeks, he bought more guns at colorado gun shops. a tactical shotgun. another pistol. and a suspected primary murder weapon, a smith & wesson high-powered all the rival. he filled out a form, showed i.d. he had no criminal record. 6,000 rounds of ammunition, all bought online legally. no questions asked. sources tell abc news that holmes also began amassing s.w.a.t. gear. and body armor, all bought online. all of it brought to bear for a packed movie theater where he would shoot 70 people. tonight, authorities are trying to determine whether there was a triggering event, something dramatic in the suspect's life that sparked this murderous campaign. sources say family and friends have told police that holmes became increasingly unstable in recent weeks, david. >> pierre thomas in the new york b

abc's pierre thomas has the story. >> reporter: this young man in many ways appears to be your typicalurban teenager. a kid who loves skateboarding and who has a facebook page. but police charged he's a teenage kingpin with six high schoolers working under him in an illegal marijuana business earning potentially $20,000 a month. >> he's a very intelligent individual, and he was somebody that was operating, really, a major drug organization. >> the case is like something out of the showtime hit "weeds." >> should i be nervous about all this? >> of course you should. it's the drug business. it's dangerous. >> reporter: a story about a suburban drug dealer. the young man lived in this neatly manicured neighborhood outside of cincinnati. an area better known for chili and local landmark, the amusement park made famous by the brady bunch. police say the teen worked with this network of adult suppliers. the organization had more than 600 plants in suburban homes valued at $3 million. >> we don't typically see somebody who is that young selling that expensive and that high grade of marijuana.

and our senior justice correspondent, pierre thomas. erre, how dangerous is the situation right now at the apartment. >> reporter: good morning, dan. today, it's a very dangerous situation. police continue to deal with a bomb factory that was rigged to massacre authorities. there are wires and improvised explosives everywhere. it's so dangerous, they've yet to set foot in the suspect's apartment. >> is there a sense of when they're going to go in and how long it will take to clean up this mess? >> we're being told by sources and the police chief suggested it might be days. several days. it's so dangerous again. they've taken snapshots through the window. they've used remote controlled cameras to try to look through the room. they're so afraid to set foot in there. the trip wires could detonate the explosives. >> the shooting is over. this man continues to terrorize. pierre, thomas, thank you. >> just moments ago, i spoke with jerell brooks and patricia baretta. thank you for joining us. we appreciate you coming on this morning. i underst

as pierre thomas has pointed out had a pretty clean background. nothing in his background would have prevented him getting the guns that he sought. after these tragedies in the last decade or so, we have seen support for gun control restrictions has actually declined in the united states and neither candidate wants to talk about it. i don't expect that to change. >> mayor michael bloomberg said no other developing country in the world has this issue. >>> george has a big show coming up this morning, a special of "this week," going inside the movie theater massacre. >>> for whatever reason, the shooter chose the latest batman mov movie, this was supposed to be the biggest blockbuster of the year, how do you market a movie forever linked to america's worst mass shooting. >> reporter: good morning. there were no reports of empty theaters over the weekend. but sunday movie attendanceless than presold tickets. in an instant the summer's most anticipated movie, "the dark knight rises," went from a blockbuster bonanza -- to a public relations nightmare.

. >>> we want to get more on james holmes now from our justice correspondent pierre thomas, who has more on the investigation, everything we are learning so far, this was a cold-blooded plan. >> reporter: cold-blooded. calculated. he developed an execution plan that he put in place that worked to perfection according to my sources, also the time and effort in terms of putting together that booby-trapped apartment. i was stuck by one source today who said that this was a like mad scientist. >> he was pulling in materials for a couple of months, getting a lot of packages at home, we know that he bought thousands of rounds of ammunition and guns. you described on friday, as having a clean skin. >> only a speeding ticket. he could have buy guns. >> we're learning as you said, a lot more about him. you described him as a mad scientist. a brilliant mad man. >> brilliant. that's what made him so dangerous. most criminals are stupid. but this guy was thoughtful and brilliant. we have some new information about what they're finding at the apartment, we're being told that they have found a compute

the fbi has gotten involved and abc's pierre thomas has the very latest. >> reporter: tonight, this simple image of a needle hidden in a sandwich is raising a critical question about an often forgotten aspect of airline security. how safe from sabotage is the food on commercial airlines? it was definitely not on the menu. a half dozen sewing needles found in sandwiches on four separate delta flights this past sunday. at least one person injured after biting in. >> there was the second bite, i bit down, that's when i felt the poke on the top of my mouth. when i pull it out of my mouth, i cleaned the food off, it was about a one-inch needle. >> reporter: passenger james was seated in row "h." >> right now, i'm okay. they said if i start developing symptoms, nausea, headaches, i have to go to the emergency room right away. it's kind of a wait and see right now. >> reporter: federal authorities, including the fbi tonight are investigating who had access to the flights originating out of amsterdam found for the u.s. delta air lines released a statement saying it has taken immediate action with

abc's pierre thomas has that part of the story. >> reporter: the plan to massacre a crowd of innocentms in a movie was unfolding flawlessly. there was fear and chaos as james holmes fired again and again with an assault rifle, had a lethal drum magazine holding 100 rounds. sources tell abc news, the smith and wesson high-powered rifle, holmes' most deadly weapon, jammed. the carnage could have been worse. more people survived, in part, sources say because holmes was probably squeezing the trigger so quickly the magazine malfunctioned. holmes was ready for war. also armed with a tactical shotgun. and abc news has learned the pistol police recovered in the theater had an extended 40-round clip. police are urgently seeking a motive and may have gotten a critical break in the case. authorities recovered a computer from the suspect's booby-trapped apartment, and sources tell us more evidence of his "batman" obsession. abc news has learned police discovered a variety of batman paraphernalia including a poster and mask from the comic book series. many of my sources appear stunned at the susp

l pierre thomas has the story.elta passengers james knew something was wrong just after he bit into a turkey sandwich during a flight home to minneapolis. >> it was on the second bite into this sandwich poked the top of my mouth. it was about 1 inch long straight needle. >>reporter: the sandwich one of 6 open 4 different flights from amsterdam with sharp sewing needle hidden inside. fbi suspect someone tried to turn turkey sandwiches that weapons in an act of sabotage. tonight this new scare raise ago critical question about airline security. how safe from tampering is airline food. >> food on to airplane is not screened not certainly like a people or luggage would be screened. >>reporter: ironically 2 victim knew each other and one of the sons passenger on another flight claims he got a tainted sandwich too. could this be a coincidence. authorities are checking. gate gourmet catering could he go serves snev00 flights every day and over 300 million passengers annually. questions about the have had safety before. ou

and as our pierre thomas has pointed out, had a pretty clean background. nothing in his background would have prevented him from getting the guns that he sought. and one of the other things that we have seen, even after all these tragedies in the last decade or so is that support for gun control restrictions has actually declined in the united states, and neither candidate wants to talk about it. i don't expect that to change. >> interesting, one person very outspoken about it, mayor michael bloomberg said no other developed country in the world has this issue that we do. >> that's right. >> a lot of people talking about it. thank you, george. george has a big show coming up this morning, a special of "this week," going inside the movie theater massacre with guests that include the governor of colorado, john hickenlooper. dan? >> all right, bianna, for whatever reason, the shooter chose the latest "batman" movie, it leaves the studio in an extremely difficult position. this was supposed to be the biggest blockbuster of the year, but how do you market a mov

pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >>> the skies over south florida could turn hazy today because ofthat's blowing in from thousands of miles away. dust particles from the sahara desert, in fact, are being carried to the u.s. on trade winds that blow typically this time of year. doctors warn it could pose a risk to anyone with breathing problems. >>> a blistering heat is behind us for now. blown away by violent storms, the northeast got battered first with damaging winds, blinding rain and hail the size of golf balls. the storms knocked out power to thousands after a day of triple-digit record highs in philadelphia, atlantic city and parts of new york. 80-mile-per-hour winds pummeled parts of the midwest overnight knocking out power to nearly 70,000 folks in the chicago area. yesterday was so bizarre. triple-digit heat, and then by the time i got home from an assignment, it was pouring. >> 20 degrees cooler after that rain comes in. it's crazy. coming from new orleans, the heat doesn't typically bother me, but here in new york it was absolutely crazy yesterday. i'm going to say my fa

. >>> pierre thomas covers the justice department and brian ross here. pierre, let me begin with you, we know at least 100 fbi agents on the scene. >> that's right, george. good morning. an army of fbi agents on the scene assisting local law enforcement. the suspect is described as 4 years old. born december 1987. right now, they're searching his car and his home. we're told that he's living in the local area, from the local area, friends, relatives and associates are being interviewed as we speak. ear early indications are no connection to international terrorism or domestic terrorism. the sources that i'm talking to, it looks like a lone wolf scenario. >> we know that he lived in the area for at least a time, do we know for how long? >> again, early stages of the investigation, the fbi officials i'm talking to, say, look, they're trying to talk to friends and relative. again, vacuum cleaning everything they can find out about him. the main thing they did early on is to change databases to see if there any ties to islamic radical terrorism groups. >> bri

pierre thomas has that part of the story. >> reporter: the plan to massacre innocent victims in a movie was unfolding flaw lessly. james holmes fired over and over again with an assault rifle. sources tell abc news the smith & wesson high-powered weapon jammed. it could have been worse. holmes was probably squeezing the trigger so quickly, the magazine malfunctioned. he was ready for war. the pistol police recovered in the theater had an extended, 40-round clip. police are urgently seeking a motive. they may have got an critical break in the case. a commuter was recovered from the suspect's booby trapped apartment. the police discovered a variety of batman paraphernalia inclu including a poster and a mask from the comic book series. many of my sources seem stunned at the suspect's cold-blood fury. >> we'll have much more about the tragedy from colorado later in today's broadcast. >> including the victims and more from the individualle held for all of them last night. >> a story that's been developing overnight, 11 people died after their pickup truck clammed into two trees. 23 people in

pierre thomas, abc news. >>> news out of london where formal terrorism charges have been filed againsto custody last week. they were arrested near london's olympic park. british authorities say they were not planning an attack against the games themselves. however, the charges against them include making an improvised explosive device and also purchasing guns and weapons. >>> now the latest story of nightmare air travel is coming from passengers who took a flight on spirit airlines. the cut-rate carrier was supposed to get them from california to florida in just five hours. instead, they endured a 19-hour ordeal. and now, the faa wants answers. here is abc's jim avila. >> reporter: a celebration 14 frustrating hours in the making. >> when we were land, people were singing hallelujah. literally. >> reporter: discount airline spirit, los angeles to ft. lauderdale, taking off at 10:56 pacific time. three hours into the flight, 4:00 in the morning central time forced to land because a passenger is out of control. >> it was like -- touching everybody who was going to the bathroom. kicking t

pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >> a little snapshot of colorado gun laws.o ban on assault weapons. no ban on high capacity ammunition clips. no registration required. no gun owner licensing required. no background checks for online sales or person-to-person transactions required, no limit on the amount of handguns you can buy in one purchase. >> 22 mass shootings in 2012 according to the brady campaign as well. so -- and no politician, president, mitt romney, want to go near it. although the president did support the assault weapon ban. now isn't going in that direction. >> made romney sign one in his state as governor -- >> neither of them want to go. go in the direction. >> shocking. we will have your comments on the debate when we come back. >> uh-huh. >> announcer: abc's "world news now" will continue after this from our abc stations. >>> yesterday we told you in the wake of the colorado massacre the debate over gun control in this country is being reignited. >> the issue is being argued online in work places and on the campaign trail. neither candidate

here is abc's pierre thomas. >> reporter: abc news was taken inside what authorities say is one of theuggling they have ever seen. >> you see right down here. >> reporter: abc news producer ray homer got a firsthand look inside. >> it is only about 4 feet high at this end. i'm told it -- it gets taller, maybe up to about 6 feet as it gets closer to mexico. >> reporter: it stretches more than two football fields long. from an ice plant in sonora, mexico to a nondescript commercial building in yuma, arizona. >> seep seems like there are w beams every 12 in. s. well constructed. >> reporter: the tunnel took an estimated year to build and cost more than $1 million. >> it is incredibly advanced. i haven't seen one this sophisticated. >> reporter: the tunnel allowed the mexican cartel to smuggle drugs by the ton into the u.s. every day and bring back load of cash and guns. it also just happened to be only a block away from a checkpoint in a border crossing. and those tons of drugs seized are a fraction what the cartels are getting through by any means necessary including in tunnels, the gove

pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >>> and it's a low-key week on the campaign trail.resident obama and the first family are at camp david. it's mr. obama's 25th visit to the presidential retreat. mitt romney is spending some downtime at his lake house in new hampshire with all 30 members of the family. and that doesn't include the secret service detail keeping watch over the candidate. >> both those guys have deserved a little down time on the holiday. >> i think so. >> they know what's coming. >>> time, now, for weather across the country. another day of extreme heat from the plains to the mid-atlantic. also, some hail, gusty winds, also a chance of tornadoes, even, from the southeast up to d.c. and from michigan to the dakotas. thunderstorms from tennessee to indianapolis and the four corners of the southwest. >> the pacific northwest is the coolest spot on the map. only in the 60s. triple digits in phoenix. 80s in the northeast. mostly 90s for the rest of the country. >>> some surprising results released overnight about whether new safety measures in cars actually