abc s david muir is following the investigation from right there in aurora. reporter: the first video yet of the alleged gunman, james holmes. hello, i m james. reporter: abc news obtaining video of the suspected shooter recorded when he was 18 at a summer science class held at a college in san diego. seen here standing in front of his peers, talking about temporal illusions, the science of changing your past. i have been working with a temporal illusion. an illusion that allows you to change the past. reporter: in the video he appears slightly nervous but also appears to be a smart teenager with promise. we are also learning more about the shooting suspect in more recent times. in just the last month, applying on line to join a colorado gun rage. trying to become a member. the owner became concerned about the suspect after calling his house and hearing a phone message that the gun owner told the ap sounded bizarre, freakish at best.
reporter: he told her he thought pierce didn t make it. that new wife got to work trying to find pierce, and she did. at university hospital across town, we sent our camera. there he was remembering the best friend that tried to get him off the floor. i was just praying. my face was flat on the ground. my buddy started shaking me. pierce, come on, man, get up. we have got to go. he thought i died. reporter: the phone call from hospital to hospital, he will never forget. the was great to hear his voice. kind of wish you were here. reporter: the story of two friends who prayed together and survived. we ll be recovering together that s for sure. david muir, abc news, aurora, colorado. the friend that married his other friend, said he was standing directly underneath the shooter, could feel the boot against his head. laid there as still as he could. as he was firing off rounds. the president said something friday that resonates. he said our time here is limited and is preci
part of a vigil for those who died and those left still struggling with disbelief after the shooting. abc s brandi hitt in aurora with the latest on the investigation. brandi, what is the latest right now? reporter: good morning, rob, paula. it was just highly emotional evening for the victims and their families here. there was a prayer vigil held last night. and president obama was also here to share a lot of hugs and also tears. reporter: heartbreak and sadness filled the aurora municipal center as thousands gathered to remember the 12 people killed in friday s movie theater massacre. one day, lord, we know that one day we will march into the theater and claim the theater back, father god. it doesn t belong to the terrorist, it belongs to the city of aurora. reporter: president obama spent two hours with the
the aurora police chief dan oates telling me his team is investigating this. we will chase down everybody this guy had any contact with. we will be as thorough as we can be. reporter: chief oates describing the scene at the gunman s apartment, the delicate task for his team breaking through the traps. reporter: you had never seen anything like that? never seen anything like that before. reporter: trip wires? there were two as explained by the bomb text, there were two triggering devices. one of them you can see with a trip wire involved mixing two chemicals to start an event. and the other one was a electronic triggering device that had to be blown up by a by the bomb experts to be deactivated. that was the boom you heard yesterday. reporter: and new pictures of the colorado field where investigators detonated what was found in the apartment as they tried to determine what kind of materials he had gathered there. david muir, abc news, aurora, colorado. meanwhile, ja
thank you. and our coverage, of course, from aurora, colorado, does not end here. we ll remember the 12 victims later in this half-hour. for the very latest developments we ll take you live to aurora again live coming up on america this morning and later on good morning america as well. we re following a developing story from south texas on this monday morning. at least 11 people have died after their truck veered off the highway and slammed into two large trees. another 12 were injured in the accident. it all happened last night in a rural area just about 70 miles outside of corpus christi. the driver was ejected. but apparently survived. border patrol agents were sent to the scene to see if the victims had entered the country. penn state can expect tough penalties for turning a blind eye to child sex abuse allegations. the ncaa will detail the punishment this morning, a day after the university carted away a statue of legendary head coach joe paterno. more from david kerl