By NBC News' David Wyllie, Ian Johnston, Dan Strieff and F. Brinley Bruton
Updated at 5:57 a.m. ET: At least 14 people were killed early Friday when at least one gunman opened fire at a midnight screening of the summer blockbuster "The Dark Knight Rises" near Denver, authorities and witnesses said.
Aurora police chief Dan Oates told reporters that 10 people died at the scene of the shooting and four others died after being taken to local hospitals. At least 50 other people were injured, Oates said.
One suspect was in custody, police said.
The incident occurred in the Century 16 Movie Theaters at the Aurora Town Center, police told NBC News. Aurora is a suburb less than 10 miles east of downtown Denver.
NBC station KUSA cited a witness as seeing a black-clad 6-foot-tall man wearing a riot helmet, goggles and bullet-proof vest. The witness and her boyfriend crawled to the emergency exit, KUSA said.
The suspect was found in possession of a gas mask and two firearms, Oates said. The police chief said there was no evidence of additional shooters.
The suspect made a statement to police about possible explosives at his home, Oates said. An apartment building in north Aurora has been evacuated, Oates said.
Witnesses told reporters that gunfire erupted during a shootout scene.
Brenda Stuart, of 850 KOA radio, told Sky News that "a lot of people thought the gunshots were part of the movie."
'I'm in shock'
Tear gas also went off in the theater, Stuart said. She added that bullets had passed from one theater into an adjoining one.
"It was surreal, it was like a movie," eyewitness Hayden Miller told KUSA.
