DENVER – The university psychiatrist seeing the young man accused in last month’s Colorado theatre massacre repeatedly tried to discuss her patient with a campus behavioural and security committee nearly a month before the attack, but the group never convened, a new report said.
KMGH-TV, citing sources it did not identify, reported Wednesday that psychiatrist Lynne Fenton called members of the University of Colorado team about graduate student James Holmes in early June. It wasn’t known what Fenton wanted to discuss, the station said.
Holmes dropped out of the university on June 10. He was arraigned Monday on charges of killing 12 people and wounding 58 in a rampage at the opening of the new Batman film on July 20. Legal experts have said Holmes’ mental state will play a key part in the case.
KMGH reported that campus officials did not contact Aurora police before July 20 and that the committee didn’t meet to discuss Holmes because he began the process of dropping out of school.
The university said Wednesday it could not discuss the report, citing a court order barring the school from releasing details about Holmes’ yearlong tenure there.
The university confirmed that Fenton was a member of a campus Behavior Evaluation and Threat Assessment team, composed of faculty and staff, including campus police. The team was created to address behavioural problems as well as potential security issues involving members of the campus community.
Fenton couldn’t be immediately reached for comment, and it was not known if she had an attorney. Members of the university team didn’t return telephone messages seeking comment.
