To put what appears to be a harmless object somewhere so it can explode and cause harm to anyone who touches it: The shooter at the theater in Aurora, Colorado, on July 20, 2012, had booby trapped his apartment and it took at least two days before the police could neutralize the explosives so they could safely enter the place to gather evidence.

• James Holmes, the Aurora, Colorado shooter, who reportedly opened fire at a Batman movie premiere, admitted to police that he had booby trapped his apartment with explosives.
• When police searched Holmes apartment, they discovered that it had been booby trapped and so they evacuated not only the building where his apartment was, but also the surrounding buildings.

A reference to hidden explosives: The booby-trapped car presented a serious danger to anyone who was near it.

1. Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said James Holmes' booby-trapped apartment contained a "sophisticated" maze of flammable devices.
2. Officials say they have removed all major threats at the booby-trapped apartment of the Aurora movie theater shooting suspect on Saturday. They used a robot to go inside James Holmes' apartment and they were able to disable a trip wire that was set to go off when the apartment door was opened.