The Batman massacre may have tragically claimed 12 lives, but amidst the carnage an unborn baby is clinging to life in what is being dubbed a miracle survival.
Pregnant Ashley Moser lost her daughter and was shot three times by alleged gunman James Holmes during the Batman massacre at a movie theatre in Colorado on Friday night.
Amazingly, her unborn baby is reported to be still alive, despite the fact Ms Moser was shot once in the stomach, as well as twice in the throat, reports the Daily Mail.
Ms Moser had been sitting next to her daughter, six-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan, who was the youngest of the 12 people killed by 24-year-old Holman, who is accused of bursting into a packed midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises", throwing two canisters of noxious gas into the crowd, and then shooting at random.
Ms Moser is still in intensive care but her brother Robert told The Daily Mail: "I don’t know how, but she still has the baby. Yesterday I was told she had lost it and today it’s OK. It’s a miracle as she was shot in the stomach."
However, Ms Moser has been left devastated by the news of her daughter's death.
"All she's asking about, of course, is her daughter," said Annie Dalton, who is Ashley Moser's aunt.
"(Veronica) was a very delightful, lively little girl. She was very engaging. It’s a terrible, terrible tragedy.'
"Veronica was to start learning swimming lessons on Tuesday. She was excited about life as she should be. She's a six-year-old girl. This is just a nightmare right now. It's a nightmare. Everything's surreal. It's just surreal."
"She took it very badly, "Jean Moser, Ashley Moser's grandmother, told the Boston Herald.
"I know she was shocked"
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has paid an emotional tribute to the victims and survivors of the Aurora cinema massacre, as the shaken US town held a tearful vigil for the 12 dead filmgoers.
Obama, making a visit to the stricken Colorado town, said he shed tears with relatives of those who died as the community struggles to recover from Friday's shooting at a screening of the latest Batman movie, which also left 58 injured.
"I confessed to them that words are always inadequate in these types of situations," he said as thousands gathered for a vigil outside the municipal center in Aurora, just outside Denver.
Speaking after visiting with families in hospital, he said he "had the chance to give folks some hugs, and to shed some tears, but also to share some laughs" as families remembered the "wonderful" lives of their loved ones.
Shortly after Obama's speech, thousands of locals applauded as police officers, army and other officials approached a stage for the start of the vigil.
"While our hearts are broken, our community is not," Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan told the crowds, which included many people in tears.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper drew applause when he refused to mention Holmes by name, referring to him only as "suspect A" and insisting that the priority should be to remember the 12 victims.
He then read out their names, after which the crowd said, "We will remember."
Police revealed on Sunday that they had found Holmes's computer inside his booby-trapped apartment, which could provide crucial details about how he planned and executed the attack, reportedly over a number of months.
Holmes, who is due to make his first court appearance on Monday, is being held in solitary confinement for his own protection, a police spokeswoman said.
It was also reported that Holmes had applied to join a private gun club a few weeks before the shooting, but his paperwork appeared suspicious and he was not approved.
The owner of Lead Valley Range telephoned Holmes shortly after receiving his application on June 25, and was greeted by a "bizarre and creepy" voicemail greeting.
Range owner Glenn Rotkovich said Holmes's voice on the message was "slurring words, but he didn't sound drunk, just strange."
Bomb experts cleared Holmes's apartment of all major explosives threats on Saturday.
CNN and the LA Times cited police sources as saying that a Batman mask and poster were among the contents recovered from the apartment. The Aurora Police Department declined to confirm or deny the report.
Early Sunday, police dismissed media reports that another person, a fellow medical PhD student, had helped Holmes in his killing spree and had called the police, threatening more violence if Holmes was not released.
Authorities said Holmes bought more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition online, as well as four guns in the two months before the rampage.
Police arrested Holmes by his car at the rear of the theater after the shooting. He offered no resistance.
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