At Least 12 Dead After A Shooting At A Showing Of The Dark Knight Rises (UPDATES)
Well, here's some scary, terrible, horrific, fucked up shit for a Friday morning. During a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, a 24-year-old crazy kicked open the emergency exit door and opened fire on everyone inside. Yeah, I'll pause as you trade your cup of morning liquid caffeine for a bottle of something brain-numbing.
Witnesses tell The Denver Post that the gunman was wearing camo all-black, a riot helmet on his head, a gas mask on his face and a bullet-proof vest. When he busted into the theater, he threw some kind of canister, which started hissing and spitting out some kind of gas. That's when he started shooting. I don't know if he timed it or it was just a tragic coincidence, but he started shooting during a shootout scene early in the movie. One witness said that many people thought the gun shots were coming from the movie and one thought that the smoke was some kind of special effect. When they realized what was going on, they ran for the doors.
So far, 12 people are confirmed dead (there are reports that 14 are dead) and 50 71 are wounded. A witness told Matt Lauer on Today this morning that she believes several children were shot.
The shooter, who has been ID'ed as 24-year-old James Holmes, didn't kill himself, which surprised me. He also didn't put up a fight when cops arrested him and grabbed his shot gun, a hand gun and an AK rifle. Police found a third gun inside of the theater. His apartment building in North Aurora was evacuated after he told police that there were explosives in his apartment. Police believe the shooter acted alone.
Here's cell phone video taken outside of the theater right after the shooting:
UPDATE: ABC News is real quick, because they have already contacted the maniac's mother in San Diego. She hasn't been contacted by police yet, didn't know of the shooting before ABC News told her and she also wasn't at all surprised. She only said, “You have the right person. I need to fly out to Colorado."
UPDATE II: The Paris premiere has been canceled. Also, Reddit has a detailed timeline of the events. It basically translates into: the world is fucked.
UPDATE III: Aaaaand here's a picture of the shooter.
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Submitted by bambam on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 1:34pm.
Sushi, I cringe every time I hear this because I think it never shows the bigger picture. Guns are a very lucrative commodity and people are unscrupulous when it comes to making money. Plus DC is right next to VA. and that state is one of the biggest gun dealing states in the union.
You combine an area ripe for drug markets along with a pro gun state with little regulation it's inevitable that guns are going to trickle down from the drug trade into other crimes.
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If guns cause crime, then why was Virginia's murder rate in 2010 4.6 per 100,000, and Washington DC's murder rate in the same year 21.9 per 100,000?
http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/vacrime.htm
http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/dccrime.htm
After all, you say that Virginia is a "pro gun state with little regulation". Why would that environment have such a different impact on those two states?
ACK! Wait, in reading back I see my response should have been to crazyinjapan AND sushi.
Sorry!
Sushi - no, you are right. guns are the weapons and the people pulling the trigger are the one's killing. But how do we keep guns from the hands of people on the verge of a killing spree?
You can't unless you start prohibiting our legal Amendment to bear arms.
Submitted by bambam on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 1:41pm.
Submitted by sushi on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 1:22pm.
Apparently so.
I tried to date this woman and we'd talk late at night, 11:30-midnite and such. In the background it sounded like her kid was bouncing off the walls. She'd be talking to me and her kid at the same time, finally I couldn't ignore it and asked her shouldn't he be in bed asleep by now?
She said she didn't get to see him cuz she worked in the afternoon blah blah blah. A kid that age needs a set schedule, I thought anyway. She told me don't tell her how to raise her kid. I never said anything else about it and we didn't last long after that.
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Exactly Bam Bam.
bambam - kids DO need a schedule. Their growing bodies and brains need the regularity and also the much needed sleep.
I get shit from people because during the school year I put my kids to bed at 7:30pm. 8:00p during the summer. (yes there are the ocassional late nights). But my kids know that this is their bed time. They get up around 6-6:30am and are non-stop all day.
Last night the BH and I had a 7pm softball game so we didn't get home until 8:30, kids went to bed at 9pm, they were still asleep when I left aty 7:30 this morning.
A well rested child is a happy child.
Submitted by M.E. on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 1:35pm.
Guns don't kill. People do.
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Yeah, but it makes it a whole lot easier to kill a whole bunch of people if you have an automatic. He wouldn't have gotten far with a knife. Face it, guns are dangerous, just as are cars. Not trying to single you out ME--I like you--but that saying is only partially true.
reply • report abuse
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You could also make the argument that if lawful citizens could carry concealed weapons, the shooter could've been taken out and damage minimized.
Submitted by tasty dish on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 12:08pm.
i'm not taking the bait. i've already spent waaay too long on this as is. read back my comments if you want a recap, and then read your "nutjob" and "there is no middle ground" comments and draw your own conclusions. fact is a terrible tragedy happened today. our exchange is just plain silly in comparison.
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Translation: "I have no counterarguments."
*shrugs* Fine.
Submitted by bambam on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 1:34pm.
Submitted by sushi on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 1:10pm.
D.C. has one of the toughest gun laws in the country and yet there is an incredibly high gun crime rate.
If you want to kill, black market.
That said, I of course support restrictions on assault rifles. I think Jared L. purchased his gun legally.
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Sushi, I cringe every time I hear this because I think it never shows the bigger picture. Guns are a very lucrative commodity and people are unscrupulous when it comes to making money. Plus DC is right next to VA. and that state is one of the biggest gun dealing states in the union.
You combine an area ripe for drug markets along with a pro gun state with little regulation it's inevitable that guns are going to trickle down from the drug trade into other crimes.
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That's my point Bam Bam. You can have all the gun laws you want, but there will ALWAYS be a blackmarket for guns. All one needs to do is look at the legislation of drugs. People who want drugs, get drugs.
I wish it was as simple to ban all guns and then have no violence. I just don't think it's realistic. How you fix this society prone to violence, I don't know. But people have to stop thinking this is an American problem. We're seeing random mass murders all over the world now.
Actually people with guns kill people. It's too late now but I'm just saying, if we lived in a world without guns then there would be a whooooole lot less deaths and violence, even accidents. But we dont, so the world is fucked :(
BTW, I grew up fishing and hunting. My dad always took me and my siblings shooting, we all had our own bb guns and pellet guns. My whole family was and still kinda is really big on hunting. No one in my family understands why I feel this way about guns now. But all you have to do is look at statistics and maybe you will get it too.
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I'm not a slut, I'm sexually liberated. There's a difference.
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Submitted by M.E. on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 1:35pm.
Guns don't kill. People do.
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Yeah, but it makes it a whole lot easier to kill a whole bunch of people if you have an automatic. He wouldn't have gotten far with a knife. Face it, guns are dangerous, just as are cars. Not trying to single you out ME--I like you--but that saying is only partially true.
The media needs to STOP showing this monster's image and STOP mentioning his name. This is exactly what he wants and all of the media outlets are falling into his trap. We should be sending a clear message to others who might want to follow in his footsteps that we will silence the shooter and honor the victims. If you agree, please sign this petition.
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-media-s-handling-of-the-dark-knight-...
P.S.
I love you Michael K!
I hope they put his ass in the general population, and I hope the other prisoners take care of him, so the tax papers don't have to continue to do so until they decide to off this idiot in 30 years, or plead insanity which YOU KNOW they are gonna do. Which is bullshit!
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"What if all you understand could fit into the center of a hand? And then you found it wasn't you, who held the sum of everything you knew?"
here's a link to celebs twittering their feelings
http://www.toofab.com/2012/07/20/the-dark-knight-rises-shooting/
god, i hate twitter. the world is not a soundbite.
I live in Denver & for years this mall's been known for having problems. The local police and retail managers have known violence was brewing for years, and chose to ignore it.
That's what's not being said here.
Submitted by sushi on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 1:22pm.
Apparently so.
I tried to date this woman and we'd talk late at night, 11:30-midnite and such. In the background it sounded like her kid was bouncing off the walls. She'd be talking to me and her kid at the same time, finally I couldn't ignore it and asked her shouldn't he be in bed asleep by now?
She said she didn't get to see him cuz she worked in the afternoon blah blah blah. A kid that age needs a set schedule, I thought anyway. She told me don't tell her how to raise her kid. I never said anything else about it and we didn't last long after that.
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Can guys and gals be "just friends?" Gals are "just friends." Guys are "just waitin."
skinnyfat: Yes. I would love to find an impartial news source that gave me facts without interpretations, speculations, opinions, or even inflection. Robotic news facts delivered impersonally.
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Visit Anthony Higgins Performances on Facebook.
My condolences to the victim's families and RIP to those who died. Very tragic.
On a side note, I'm always nice to quiet loners my coworkers call "weird" and treat like shit. If they ever snap and start shooting at work hopefully they'll remember I was nice to them and let me go.
...My darling can't you see
My heart sounds just for you my dear...
Submitted by sushi on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 12:58pm.
Eh, when I heard about the youngsters in the audience, my reaction was also "what the fuck are the parents thinking?" This was not blaming the victim, but rather a feeling of "why are these fuckers so into instant gratification that they are bringing kids out that late at night
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Thank you, Sushi. I think that's the point many of us were trying to make as well.
I grew up in Colorado, so this touches home. So sad. First the wildfirfes in my hometown, now this. Praying for all affected. Sad.
Guns don't kill. People do.
for those of you familiar with the movie basic instinct...went to an early showing with my friend and this woman walks in with her son who's maybe 8-9 years old. the movie starts and there's the opening sex scene. that lady jumped up and started dragging that kid out of the theater (he of course looks at the screen as long as possible). hard to believe how stupid people are.
Apparently the dude was in school pursuing his PHD in neuroscience. Which makes me believe he was on the smart side of the scale. With that, knowing near geniuses, they are not socially adapt.
My friends brother, who scored PERFECT on his SAT's did so frying on acid. He was a straight A student who didn't even try. Used drugs to try to be "normal". Cut to his early thirties where he castrated himself during a bad trip.
Maybe instead of chopping off his own balls this dude's break was gunning down a theater full of people?
I am not making any excuses for it. He deserves to die.
Submitted by sushi on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 1:10pm.
D.C. has one of the toughest gun laws in the country and yet there is an incredibly high gun crime rate.
If you want to kill, black market.
That said, I of course support restrictions on assault rifles. I think Jared L. purchased his gun legally.
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Sushi, I cringe every time I hear this because I think it never shows the bigger picture. Guns are a very lucrative commodity and people are unscrupulous when it comes to making money. Plus DC is right next to VA. and that state is one of the biggest gun dealing states in the union.
You combine an area ripe for drug markets along with a pro gun state with little regulation it's inevitable that guns are going to trickle down from the drug trade into other crimes.
***************
Can guys and gals be "just friends?" Gals are "just friends." Guys are "just waitin."
I know this will never happen, but I wish all the guns would be confiscated and the only people who are able to carry one is police officers who are working. It sounds a little extreme but that's what we need. Guns do nothing but kill. Kill animals, kill people...
And to all the fucktards (on other websites) saying that if someone in the theatre would have had a gun too then all this would have been stopped... Ummm no. He had a bulletproof vest on and more people probably would have been shot with crossfire.
I hope all the best for the families of the victims.
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I'm not a slut, I'm sexually liberated. There's a difference.
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How apropos, the fucker has devil-horn hair.
Submitted by louise_brooks on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 12:50pm.
I have not read John Douglas, but I can agree that mass murderers are NOT like everyone else. I can’t even begin to understand the thought processes - that by taking out tens of hundreds of innocents, one can achieve some sort of retribution.
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Why don't you dance with me? I'm not no limburger.
ps the reason some people smile/laugh/giggle in horrific situations is outright fear - I doubt very much that people enjoy being shot at...
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Certified Slore
Michael K, you are so right, my dear.
The world is fucked.
Submitted by ImpertinentVixen on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 1:12pm.
Why you should always be wary of what you first hear in the media:
http://mrctv.org/videos/brian-ross-admits-he-was-wrong-says-shooting-sus...
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most news commentators are idiots who talk out their asses
Submitted by bambam on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 1:16pm.
I'm a little amazed at people being all hopped up at the babies and kids thing. Where do you all live, seriously? This has gone on like forever. Usually the parents are basically kids themselves, no idea what they should or shouldn't do with their kids, had parents with poor skills/no idea how to pass them on. Even people you'd think would know better bring their children to innappropriate places or innappropriate times. Happens all the time.
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Right -- people bring their children to inappropriate places at inappropriate times. That's why people are hopped up.
For me, it's just that I don't understand the massive need to see a midnight showing of a movie with youthful kids in tow. Are your needs that much more imnportant that your kid's slumber?
I live not far from where this happened, and work in digital cinema deployment. and have worked directly with the staff at this site. I hope that everyone recovers and heals from this mess, and especially hope that the theatre staff, who work for minimum wage, and who deal with crazies every day at this place heal as well.
Ok, I'm taking bets. How long till Joan Rivers makes a joke? I say 2 weeks tops!
I'm a little amazed at people being all hopped up at the babies and kids thing. Where do you all live, seriously? This has gone on like forever. Usually the parents are basically kids themselves, no idea what they should or shouldn't do with their kids, had parents with poor skills/no idea how to pass them on. Even people you'd think would know better bring their children to innappropriate places or innappropriate times. Happens all the time.
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Can guys and gals be "just friends?" Gals are "just friends." Guys are "just waitin."
...I hope they throw the book at this FREAK...
...that being said, I bet he was on 1 or more SSRI-type antidepressants...Prozac, Zoloft, etc...that sh*t makes people homicidal...
...I have to say that outlawing civilian ownership of firearms because of FREAKS like this is not the answer...and I'm a Canuck...
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...'It's as if he's using the paint to represent something he's seen'...
Submitted by Few Words on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 12:55pm.
*Swooooon*
Why you should always be wary of what you first hear in the media:
http://mrctv.org/videos/brian-ross-admits-he-was-wrong-says-shooting-sus...
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Visit Anthony Higgins Performances on Facebook.
Submitted by MahatMaCoat on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 12:59pm.
This is completely shocking and I have felt sick all day after reading the news.
Can I ask, however, what was a baby doing in a cinema at midnight? It just doesn't make sense?
For fear of pissing off all the yanks, surely it is now time to sort out the gun laws???? Any goon can get a gun and do this, it just beggars belief. Sorry... :(
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D.C. has one of the toughest gun laws in the country and yet there is an incredibly high gun crime rate.
If you want to kill, black market.
That said, I of course support restrictions on assault rifles. I think Jared L. purchased his gun legally.
Submitted by MahatMaCoat on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 12:59pm.
This is completely shocking and I have felt sick all day after reading the news.
Can I ask, however, what was a baby doing in a cinema at midnight? It just doesn't make sense?
For fear of pissing off all the yanks, surely it is now time to sort out the gun laws???? Any goon can get a gun and do this, it just beggars belief. Sorry... :(
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*sigh* If only it were that simple, my friend. You see, here in the US we (and I say this collective because many people as well as I don't represent this)have a worshipful love of firearms put together with a lot of freedom and a disproportionate amount of crazy. It is truly a perfect storm for ghastly crime. The guns won't go away. They are here to stay, sad to say.
My country is going down the tubes, and it makes me want to cry. Poor economy. Poor educational system. Moral depravity. Terrible crime. Vicious bipartisanship. And worst of all of these things--BAD MANNERS.
I think the batteries on my keyboard are dying.
I remember seeing"The Bair With Project" at a late showing and the audience being filled with babie, toddlers and young children that should have been in bed.
Some parents just really don't give a fuck and their agenda is more important than that of any schedule for their child/children.
Few Words - right? life in prison is too good for this asshole. Cops should have put a few clips into him. Save the taxpayers the money and give the mourning families some ease of rest.
Submitted by Heroic Cupcake on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 12:46pm.
Ok Skinny Fat. My panties are on straight. Don't imply with exasperation that someone is purposely spreading "disinformation" and then expect them to blow rainbows up your ass.
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I did not imply what you inferred. And it's misinformation you fucking moron and blow rainbows up your own ass. Don't go posting that a baby is dead when it isn't.
This is completely shocking and I have felt sick all day after reading the news.
Can I ask, however, what was a baby doing in a cinema at midnight? It just doesn't make sense?
For fear of pissing off all the yanks, surely it is now time to sort out the gun laws???? Any goon can get a gun and do this, it just beggars belief. Sorry... :(
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Certified Slore
Eh, when I heard about the youngsters in the audience, my reaction was also "what the fuck are the parents thinking?" This was not blaming the victim, but rather a feeling of "why are these fuckers so into instant gratification that they are bringing kids out that late at night."
Give me 5 min with the asshole who did this & I'll save taxpayers the hassle of a trial.
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♦ When all else fails, they call me.
♦ Life sucks. Shit Happens. I'm a student of t-shirts.
That face, what a creeper.
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What would Jesus do for a Klondike Bar?
http://chakrakahn.tumblr.com/
Submitted by super8atefilm on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 12:33pm.
I read a lot of true crime and I'm reading a book by John Douglas now (one of the founders of the FBI's behavioral science, aka profiling, unit) and one of the things he was saying is that the idea that serial killers or mass murders act like everyone else is mainly a myth. Most of them are big weirdos, socially inept, full of rage, and their strangeness is noticed by others.
Yes, there are the some who can effectively blend in, but the vast majority are people who give us the creeps. So yeah, I agree with you that in the next few days a lot of stories that this guy was creeping out the neighborhood will come out. I guess they found already found all sorts of explosives at his apartment and think it may be days before it's all cleared out.
Submitted by Heroic Cupcake on Fri, 07/20/2012 - 12:47pm.
Lulz @ Lucifer. Love your posts, btw.
♥ ♥
*blows rainbows via unicorn up Heroic Cuppy's ass*
Wait, WHAT? What do parenting skills have to do with a batshit cray cray that opened fire on a theater full of innocent people?
Unless they find out he was pysically and or mentally abused it is on HIM.