‘We understand the loss you’re experiencing,’ Netanyahu condoles US after shooting

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conveyed his condolences to the American people via a letter to US President Barack Obama late Saturday night, a day after a gunman stormed a movie theater in Colorado, killing 12.

“I send my condolences and those of the people of Israel to the families of the slain Americans in Aurora, Colorado, and our wishes for a full and speedy recovery to the wounded,” Netanyahu wrote. “All Israelis stand with the American people as they grieve this horrific tragedy that claimed the lives of so many. We well understand the pain and the loss that you are experiencing.”

On Friday, former graduate student James Holmes sprayed gun fire into a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado during a packed screening of Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises.” Twelve people were killed and dozens more wounded in what authorities called the worst shooting in recent US history.

Netanyahu’s letter hinted at Israel’s coping with its own tragedy last week, as five Israeli tourists were killed by a suicide bomber in Burgas, Bulgaria Wednesday.

Makeshift memorials sprang up for the victims of the theater massacre, including a 6-year-old girl, an aspiring female sportscaster and a man celebrating his 27th birthday, after police grimly went door to door with a list of those killed. Holmes, 24, was arrested early Friday and Saturday evening America time officers successfully neutralized all the bombs in his booby-trapped apartment.

Near the entrance to the theater’s parking lot, a makeshift memorial of 12 candles sat in a row alongside piles of flowers. Up the hill from the theater, about 20 pastors led a vigil for 350 people, some hugging and crying. A sign read, “7/20. Gone Not Forgotten.”

A federal law enforcement official said Holmes bought a ticket to the movie, went into the theater as part of the crowd and propped open an exit door as the movie was playing. The suspect then donned protective ballistic gear and opened fire, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation.

Authorities said Holmes shot scores of people, picking off victims who tried to flee. At least one person was struck in an adjacent theater by gunfire that went through the wall. Adding to the terror and chaos were two gas canisters thrown by the suspect that filled the theater with smoke.