Dark Knight Massacre

[MayTheGForceBeWithYou]

And you thought YOUR midnight screening was madness?

During a "The Dark Knight Rises" screening in a suburban Denver movie theater, a masked man burst in and started shooting. According to the Denver Post, he apparently entered through an emergency exit at the front of the Aurora, CO theater: "The suspect then threw some type of explosive and started shooting into the packed theater. The man had a rifle, a handgun and a gas mask when police arrested him." The suspect has been identified as James Holmes, 24. Ten people died at the theater, while at least two died at area hospitals (preliminary total of slain victims is 14). Dozens, including a 3-month old baby, were also injured.

 

The LA Times reports, "[A] witness said he saw a man two seats over shot in the head. 'I can't get his image out of my head,' the witness wrote in a message. The victim was wearing a shirt with the Joker's face on it, and after he was shot, slumped back in his chair, his face covered in blood."

 

Holmes apparently told police officers that there were explosives in his apartment in North Aurora. Police evacuated the building and surrounding area.

 

Another witness said, "The suspect throws tear gas in the air, and as the tear gas appears he started shooting. It was very hard to breathe. I told my brother to take cover. It took awhile. I started seeing flashes and screaming, I just saw blood and people yelling and a quick glimpse of the guy who had a gas mask on. I was pushed out. There was chaos, we started running."

 

And NBC affiliate News 9 spoke to two witnesses:

 

"I saw a man walk in through the exit," one eyewitness told Jojola. "[He] looked like he had a gas mask on."

 

The witnesses say he threw a two gas canisters into the theater after busting down the door. The witnesses said no one reacted at first - thinking he was a stunt for the movie.

 

"He looked so calm when he did it," the eyewitness said. "It was like scary. He waited for both the bombs to explode before he did anything. Then, after both of them exploded, he began to shoot."

 

The witnesses said he - at first - fired into the air and then started shooting towards the people.

 

"He had no specific target. He just started letting loose," the eyewitness said.

 

Both witnesses said one of the scariest parts was the shooter didn't say a word.

 

"Honestly, I thought I was gonna get shot," the eyewitness said. "I thought there was no way I was going to get out of there without getting shot."

 

A woman from San Diego contacted ABC News and said she was James Holmes' mother: "She had awoken unaware of the news of the shooting and had not been contacted by authorities. She immediately expressed concern that her son may have been involved. 'You have the right person,' she said. 'I need to call the police," she added. "I need to fly out to Colorado.'"

 

President Obama said he was "shocked and saddened" by the incident and will speak about it at 11:20 a.m. (EST). Here's his initial statement:

 

"Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado. Federal and local law enforcement are still responding, and my administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time. We are committed to bringing whoever was responsible to justice, ensuring the safety of our people, and caring for those who have been wounded."

 

A Redditor in the theater posted about the experience inside the complex, "The shooting began during a gunfight scene in the movie, and at first, we thought it was special effects when smoke rose up. When shots happened again and people began to run, we thought something was up. A guy ran in and shouted there was a gunman in the building, and the alarms to emergency evacuate started to go off. I now know what tear gas feels like. I've never had to 'get down' with a police officer screaming at us. This is the most f---ed up night of my short life. I need an army of kitten photos stat."

 

Warner Bros. issued a statement, “Warner Bros. is deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident. We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time."

SOURCE (Note: post here was modified for a bit of language)

[SoCalCoasters]

I heard about this after I got out of my Midnight Showing last night...it's such a terrible incident, and I can't believe anyone would do such a horrible thing... 12 people killed and 40 wounded? It's despicable. The guy who did this deserves the maximum punishment of the law...

[alpengeist04]

^death.

[imawesome1124]

I heard about this after I got out of my Midnight Showing last night...it's such a terrible incident, and I can't believe anyone would do such a horrible thing... 12 people killed and 40 wounded? It's despicable. The guy who did this deserves the maximum punishment of the law...

He will be put to death for this. It was heartless, callous, and people like that should not walk this earth. My prayers go out to all the victims and their families.

[AnonymousReed]

What happened was unfortunate. I too found out about it after my Midnight Showing and I was shocked. My prayers go out to the victims and families.

 

On the other note,This Twitter page has to be clueless. They've since apologized by giving this excuse:

Our PR is NOT US based and had not checked the reason for the trend

And then CNN posted this status:

Breaking News: Mitt Romney: Our hearts break for victims of Colorado theater shooting whose lives were shattered in "moments of evil."

How is Romney giving a statement "Breaking News"?!? These news sources need talk about the actual shooting and the status of the injured victims! I could care less about Romney!

[beatle11]

Horrible story. Thoughts and prayers to the victims friends and family.

[CoasterRollin]

How is Romney giving a statement "Breaking News"?!? These news sources need talk about the actual shooting and the status of the injured victims! I could care less about Romney!

Amen. That's all news seems to be most of the time: "Oh oh oh let's see what politician _______ has to 'say' about it."

 

Don't give me that crap! Tell me what the hell happened!

 

My thoughts go out to the families of the victims, and I hope this doesn't ruin peoples' movie going experience.

[AnonymousReed]

I'm still skeptical about this guy..He's been calling himself the Joker and the first thing that comes to mind when I think about the Joker is that scene from the first Dark Knight where he planted that cell phone bomb on one of the cell mates and the Joker asked for his free phone call and then the Jail blows up.

 

I'm still curious to why this guy didn't kill himself. Everything seems a bit off...and I still think that he did something to one of the bodies. Something similar to what I said above. Again, my prayers go out the victims and families involved in this.

[Angry_Gumball]

I say, throw this 'joker' guy in the gas chamber, let him suffer...forget this calm lethal injection stuff. Very sad news to hear.

[BeemerBoy]

I'm still skeptical about this guy..He's been calling himself the Joker and the first thing that comes to mind when I think about the Joker is that scene from the first Dark Knight where he planted that cell phone bomb on one of the cell mates and the Joker asked for his free phone call and then the Jail blows up.

 

I'm still curious to why this guy didn't kill himself. Everything seems a bit off...and I still think that he did something to one of the bodies. Something similar to what I said above.

Take your pick.

[AnonymousReed]

I'm still skeptical about this guy..He's been calling himself the Joker and the first thing that comes to mind when I think about the Joker is that scene from the first Dark Knight where he planted that cell phone bomb on one of the cell mates and the Joker asked for his free phone call and then the Jail blows up.

 

I'm still curious to why this guy didn't kill himself. Everything seems a bit off...and I still think that he did something to one of the bodies. Something similar to what I said above.

Take your pick.

Hey it was just an opinion! This guy set up a booby trap in his apartment that they can't even find a solution to deactivate it!

[BeemerBoy]

^ He may have even been a former employee of Axis Chemicals.

 

Conspiracies, man. Red flags, maaannnn.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2ZQGu1bVgY

[I305KD]

This was a terrible incident. I got the chills when I first saw it. And to think this guy was smart. He was studing neuroscience at the University of Colorado. Something had to happen during his childhood or something to make him just snap and not care anymore.

 

This is similar to Columbine back in 1999. They are only 17 miles away I think. He didn't care about race, gender, or age. He just wanted to kill. The same motive for the 2 students during the Columbine massacre. I'm not sure the motive for James Holmes, but that won't come out for a bit. My thoughts and prayers are with them.