There was some buzz yesterday about a possible second suspect in the Aurora theater shooting. Tonight, local Denver media outlets are tweeting and reporting on a possible second person of interest in the horrific crime. TV station KDVR reports that police have issued an alert for a man who allegedly called from James Holmes’ phone and “threatened violence” if Holmes is not released.
@kdvr Sources tell me someone called from person of interest's phone and threatened violence if Holmes is not released.
— justinjoseph (@justinjoseph) July 22, 2012
Sources tell FOX31 Denver reporter Justin Joseph that a second man is now a person-of-interest in the Aurora theater shooting investigation. We are not disclosing his identity because he has not been charged.
…Neighbors of the person of interest say for the past two days there have been SWAT team and police cars in their alley and unmarked cars in street.
“He’s been there about a year,” said one neighbor. Agents showed up again this morning.“I woke up this morning with cops still here trying to look inside his home. At 5:00 a.m. cops showed-up and asked me about (him).”
KDVR knows his name, but is not disclosing it because he has not been charged with anything. The station has seen his Facebook page and also confirmed that the person of interest is a student in the same doctoral program that James Holmes was in the process of withdrawing from when the massacre occurred.
This is the second person of interest’s Facebook page screencapped by KDVR:
The news is breaking all over Twitter, and so is the renewed shock.
So far, only KDVR/KWGN reporting on second person of interest in #Aurora shooting. Report here: http://t.co/NnAwx81G
— A.V. (@AVRuns) July 22, 2012
https://twitter.com/LonKiLo/status/226888905549553664
Whoa. RT @ProducerMatthew: KDVR: Neighbors – Second person of interest in shooting hasn't been seen in 2 days – http://t.co/AhEjuSBb
— Francis Materi (@fran_the_man) July 22, 2012
Other local stations are mentioning the scoop:
.@9WantsToKnow: Authorities are looking into likelihood that #theatershooting suspect had acquaintance w/ knowledge of attack
— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) July 22, 2012
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Reuters social media editor Matthew Keys tweets a name: “Yoem Pyo Lee.”
Yoem Pyo Lee is the second person of interest being sought by police. KDVR did not identify him during their report.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 22, 2012
Keys later corrected the spelling of the name when he tweeted the un-blurred Facebook page:
Exclusive: The person of interest being sought in the Aurora shooting is Yeom Pyo Lee – http://t.co/DuJwt0y9
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 22, 2012
This is a Twitter page belonging to a Yeom Pyo Lee: Here.
This is the Facebook page belonging to a Yeom Pyo Lee: Here.
This is a LinkedIn page belonging to a Yeom Pyo Lee: Here.
This is an Instagram page of a Yeom Pyo: Here.
We note again that Yeom Pyo Lee has not been charged with anything.
Neither, for that matter, has James Holmes yet been charged with any crime. Holmes will appear in court on Monday and will face charges later next week.
@ericasmith First person of interest would be James Holmes I'd imagine — hasn't been formally charged, is currently detained.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 22, 2012
@vandy007 Based on reports, doesn't seem to be, appears to have been involved after the fact, but unclear right now.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 22, 2012
A Buzzfeed editor disagrees with Reuters’ decision to publicize Lee’s name.
https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedAndrew/status/226893315394641921
Some agree:
I'm not Tweeting the name of the person of interest until he's officially named a person of interest by PD.
— Joe Brooks (@joebrooks) July 22, 2012
Here’s how Keys got the name:
https://twitter.com/petstarr/status/226900300357836801
@petstarr Blurry image from KDVR's aircheck matches Facebook profile; Storyful has also been able to confirm they match.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 22, 2012
The debate continues to heat up late Saturday night and we’ll continue to cover it all as developments unfold across social media.
@KNX1070: FBI and #Aurora PD will not confirm reports about a second person of interest possibly connected to theater shooting. @surayafadel
— Everything L.A. (@LosAngelesToday) July 22, 2012
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Update: Denver’s ABC 7 News adds late tonight that the person of interest has been found, is an “acquaintance” of Holmes, and had an electronic communication from his residence “traced through an internet protocol number to a router in Aurora:”
Sources close to the investigation of the Aurora theater shootings told the Call7 Investigators that the Aurora Police Department received an electronic communication that threatened violence if James Holmes wasn’t released.
Holmes is accused in the slayings of 12 people and the wounding of 58 others at an Aurora theater early Friday.
The communication was traced through an internet protocol number to a router in Aurora. The person who lives at the address is an acquaintance of James Holmes through their program at the Anschutz Medical Campus, according to the sources.
The second person of interest “has been interviewed. It was still unclear Saturday night whether the person actually sent the threat.”
Update:
Aurora PD reaffirms NO 2nd #theatershooting suspect: "An associate of Holmes was interviewed… no reason to believe that he is involved."
— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) July 22, 2012
The Aurora Police Department calls the man who was interviewed today an “associate” of Holmes.
MORE- @AuroraPD: "An associate of Holmes was interviewed this evening. There is no reason to believe that he is involved."
— Nick Valencia (@CNNValencia) July 22, 2012
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Ouch:
@TwitchyTeam Somewhere @BrianRoss is Googling "Colorado TEA Party Yoem Pyo Lee" and crossing his fingers.
— Mike G (@goedharted) July 22, 2012
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Update: Aurora police chief: “the person brought in to be questioned on Saturday ‘was a casual consequence.’ ”
“The relationship was real inconsequential,” he said. “[I]t’s really an inconsequential matter.”
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