( CNN ) -- James Holmes called a University of Colorado switchboard nine minutes before he allegedly opened fire at a movie theater in a Denver suburb on July 20 , public defender Tamara Brady said in court Thursday . The number can be used to get in contact with faculty members during off hours , she said . Holmes , 24 , is accused of opening fire during a midnight premiere of the latest Batman movie , `` The Dark Knight Rises , '' killing 12 people and injuring 58 others . He has been charged with murder and attempted murder and faces two weapons charges . On Thursday , Holmes appeared before a packed court hearing , which included survivors of the shooting . Dr. Lynne Fenton , his psychiatrist , testified that her contact with Holmes ended on June 11 , and that she later contacted campus police because she was `` so concerned '' about what happened during that last meeting , though she declined to elaborate . Colorado shooting victims ' families criticize relief charity . Officials said Holmes mailed a notebook to her before the shooting , though it 's not clear whether its contents will be considered admissible in court . Fenton testified that Holmes ' defense team contacted her after the shooting and asked that she send the notebook back to Holmes via them . In 2011 , the University of Iowa rejected Holmes ' graduate application , with one official saying `` Do NOT offer admissions under any circumstances , '' according to documents obtained by CNN . A second university official agreed not to make the recommendation for Holmes ' admittance . The suspected gunman was a doctoral candidate studying neuroscience at the University of Colorado 's Anschutz campus in Aurora . But he was `` denied access to the school after June 12 , 2012 , after he made threats to a professor , '' according to court documents . Subsequently , Holmes `` started the process to voluntarily withdraw from his graduate studies program . '' The University of Colorado said this month that it hired a former U.S. attorney to conduct an independent review into how the school handled Holmes . Holmes said earlier that he wanted to study `` the primary source of all things , our own minds , '' according to a personal statement he submitted as part of a graduate studies application at the University of Illinois . The application included the statement , professional references and test scores . Prosecutors : Theater shooting suspect told classmate he wanted to kill people . The documents were released by the university , where Holmes applied to the neuroscience department before later opting to attend the University of Colorado . While the documents do little to answer questions about the suspect 's possible motive , they offer insight into Holmes as a student and his aspirations to study the human brain . In the statement , Holmes wrote that he has long been `` fascinated by the complexities of long lost thought seemingly arising out of nowhere into stream of awareness . '' `` These fascinations likely stemmed from my interest in puzzles and paradoxes as an adolescent and continued through my curiosity in academic research , '' he wrote in the statement , submitted in early 2011 . He titled his resume `` aspiring scientist . '' Holmes was described as taking `` an active role in his education , and brings a great amount of intellectual and emotional maturity into the classroom , '' according to a letter of reference that appeared to be from one of his former professors . Shackled Holmes in court . CNN 's Chelsea J. Carter and Michael Cary contributed to this report .
NEW : Holmes called a university switchboard off hours before he allegedly opened fire . Holmes , last month , is accused of killing 12 people in a theater shooting in Colorado , Aurora , last month . He is charged with murder and attempted murder and faces 12 weapons charges .