Mother of Aurora Theater Shooter Speaks Out

For the first time ever, the mother of James Holmes, the convicted Aurora theater shooter, is speaking out about the tragedy, and the importance of being educated about mental illness.

Speaking exclusively to ABC’s News10 in San Diego, Arlene says she has struggled to process the tragedy.

“Its horrible what he did, it can’t be minimized,” says Holmes, “It can’t be erased. A tragedy doesn’t turn into something else. It’s always a tragedy”

Arlene Holmes realizes there will always be those who say…”how did you not know?” a question that has consumed her, and given rise to the only shred of hope she can now pass on.

“I failed to be educated and I want to offer up that failure as advice to other people.”

Arlene’s says she is breaking her silence now, in May, as part of Mental Health Awareness Month.

She wants other parents to know the importance of recognizing the early signs and symptoms.

Arlene says that all through elementary school, James Holmes was a happy kid, and frequently had lots of kids over to the house.

She says things changed when James was 12 or 13-year-old. The National Alliance on Mental Illness says half of all mental disorders start before the age of 14.

“I noticed he was sadder than a child should be,” says Arlene.

They saw a family therapist for about a year and worked on some issues, but James continued to get quieter; more irritable.

“These are the things people need to hone in on,” says Arlene, “Don’t do what we did [by waiting], seek the help of a professional”

Dr. Jim Fix, program supervisor of Clinical Psychology at Palomar Hospital says mental illness needs to come out of the shadows, “We need to be talking about these things, we need to erase the stigma and treat it like any other medical disorder”

Arlene says she wishes she had heeded that advice: “I can’t erase the day, I wish I could. The only way I can honor [the victim’s] injuries and distress is try to prevent this from happening again”