The man accused of killing 12 people in a Colorado movie theater heard the official charges against him Monday morning.
Just 10 days ago James Holmes allegedly opened fire, killing 12 and injuring 58 others.
On Monday many of those victims watched firsthand as Holmes was officially charged with murder.
Holmes stared straight ahead as prosecutors charged him with 140 counts of murder and attempted murder.
"24 counts of murder in the first degree," Office of the State Court Administrator Rob McCallum announced to the press. "116 counts of criminal intent to commit first degree murder."
The courtroom was packed with family members and shooting victims, still recovering from their wounds.
"We are not going to back down to the individual," shooting survivor Donald Lader said. "We are going to stand up against him."
People at the hearing said the 24-year-old appeared subdued and even dazed at times. Holmes spoke just once, saying "yes" when the judge asked him if he understood the charges. He was charged with two counts for each victim, along with possession of explosives for his booby-trapped apartment.
Holmes was reportedly seeing a psychiatrist, and the defense is trying to keep anything their client gave to his doctor out of evidence.
Legal analysts believe Holmes' attorneys will pursue an insanity defense.
But some victims and their families, like Maryellen Hansen, are hoping that won't be allowed. Hansen's niece Ashley Moser is one of the shooting victims. The pregnant mother was paralyzed in the attack, and lost her baby over the weekend.
"It was very important to come today to see him as who he was," Hansen said, "and there was a lot of anger."
Holmes is scheduled to be back in court August 9th for another pre-trial hearing.
Back at home, Northern Nevadans have welcomed home the body of one of their own. 26-year-old Jonathan Blunk was one of the victims in the shooting, and on Friday his body returned toRreno, where it was transported to Mountain View Mortuary under the watch of a patriot guard.
"We want to do what we can do to make this as comfortable as we can for the family," Blunk family spokesperson Kim Young said.
Blunk graduated from Hug High School in 2004, then served three tours of duty. He leaves behind a wife and two young children. Young said Blunk's wife is taking the loss hard, but said that our tight-knit community will help her through it.
"She has the community," Young said. "She has her family, she has her friends and everybody else there for her."
Later this week the entire community is invited to a viewing and service in Blunk's honor. A public viewing is set for Thursday from 1 PM to 5 PM at Mountain View Mortuary. The service is Friday at 9 AM. There's also an account set up to help the Blunk family through this difficult time. To donate, just head to any Wells Fargo Bank branch.
Blunk served three tours in the Middle East, and planned to re-enlist with the goal of becoming a Navy SEAL.
An account has also been established online for all of the victims.
About $2 million has been donated so far. Just go to http://bit.ly/Mem1D2 to donate.
Written by Arianna Bennett with contributions from the Associated Press
