LIVE VIDEO — Authorities in Aurora, Colorado, prepare to enter the apartment of suspected movie theater gunman James Eagan Holmes.
AURORA, Colo. -- A trip wire and incendiary device set to kill anyone entering the apartment of mass shooting suspect James Eagan Holmes was disarmed Saturday and specialists later set off a small, controlled detonation inside.
A siren and shouts of "Fire in the hole" preceded the blast, and a two-man team on a fire truck ladder later peered inside the apartment.
Before the detonation, Aurora Police Sgt. Cassidee Carlson announced the trip wire and explosive had been disarmed, saying "we have been successful in defeating the first threat."
She did not say if the team used a robot as earlier planned.
"It was set up to kill," she said of the trip wire and explosive.
Reporters were being kept back by yellow police tape.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper was among the officials at the scene, where specialists assessed their next move after finding "another triggering mechanism," Carlson said.
Carlson earlier said any controlled detonation "may cause a loud boom. There may also be a fire that erupts at that point."
"We're going to be very cautious," she added, because "we don't want to lose" any evidence.
Authorities in Aurora, Colo., announce that they have completed the first step needed to enter the apartment of suspected movie theater shooter James Eagan Holmes.
"There are still unknowns," she said, referring to the possibility of a fire or explosions that are not controlled. "We're not exactly sure of everything that's in there."
Any undetonated explosives will be taken in trucks lined with sand to take the impact of any explosion, she said, adding that some 30 aerial shells are among the items detected inside the apartment on Friday.
Fire trucks surrounded the building on Saturday as a precaution. Some adults and children in nearby buildings not evacuated watched from balconies as officials prepared to enter.
Earlier Saturday, streets around the building were cleared, four neighboring buildings were evacuated and some unattended vehicles were towed away.
After disabling a trip wire at suspected gunman James Eagan Holmes' apartment, authorities in Colorado are moving to the next phase while trying to enter the residence. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.
Local residents were contacted and Carlson said officials were "confident in our evacuations at this point."
On Friday, other tenants in the apartment building cleared out, taking with them a few belongings.
The Red Cross said Saturday that 16 evacuees were in one of the agency's shelters.
The building is in a lower-income area about four miles from where the shootings took place during a midnight premiere of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises".
James Holmes was described as a geeky, booksmart and quiet student. Now, police are trying to figure out what caused him to allegedly commit such a heinous act.
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