By Greg Milam, US Correspondent
Prosecutors will today begin to outline the case against the student accused of a shooting rampage which left 12 dead and dozens wounded at a Batman movie premiere.
A week-long preliminary hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence to put James Holmes on trial on more than 160 counts of murder, attempted murder and firearms offences.
Holmes is accused of opening fire during a showing of The Dark Knight Rises in the Denver suburb of Aurora.
Survivors and relatives of the victims will be in court and have been warned to expect to hear harrowing details. Video recorded inside the cinema on the night is expected to be shown.
A gagging order put in place by the judge means little is known about the evidence against Holmes.
A promising neuroscience student, he began to stock up on weapons, ammunition, explosives and combat gear in the spring of last year. He began to see a university psychiatrist and then dropped out of his course.
A memorial has been set up in Aurora for those killed at the cinema After the shooting police discovered his flat was booby-trapped with explosive devices.
Holmes, who has cut a sometimes bizarre figure in court with bright red hair, could face the death penalty if convicted, but his lawyers claim he is mentally ill.
The Aurora rampage was one of a number of mass shootings in the US last year, culminating with the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, which have raised the issue of gun control.
A review ordered by President Barack Obama is due to report back within weeks, but the gun lobby has signalled it will oppose new restrictions.
Sky News visited the Dragon Man shooting range in Colorado Springs, about an hour's drive from Aurora, and talked to those who believe the answer to gun violence is more guns.
Among the dozens of families at the range was Randall Niles and his son. Mr Niles said: "Obviously there is a notion of safety, you don't want to be a victim.
Sales of guns have risen since the Sandy Hook shooting "The last place I want to go is a gun-free zone, where the bad guy can reload. Even my daughter walks into a campus and says 'That makes no sense because the bad guys don't read the law'."
Jessica Spain had come to shoot for the first time, she said, because she was worried about her personal protection.
She said: "I think everyone is a little scared of everything that is going on in the media and in the government. It is our right to protect ourselves and we have to protect that."
The range is owned by Mel 'Dragon Man' Bernstein and his gun shop is seeing unprecedented business. Like most firearms stores in the US, shelves are bare and prices are rising.
He said: "Unbelievable. I sold over 300 guns in two and a half weeks. We figured out that every 15 to 20 minutes somebody came in and bought a gun because they're afraid after that school shooting."
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