Mass Shooting at Colo. Movie Theater, 14 People Dead

[MugenOne]

A shooting at a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado early today has left at least 14 people dead and at least 50 people injured, authorities confirmed.

Police now have apprehended a suspect who has been described as an adult male and have recovered a gun after the shooting at approximately 12:30 a.m. CT at the Century 16 Movie Theaters at the Aurora Town Center in the Denver suburb.
Witnesses said that the man appeared at the front of the theater with a rifle, handgun and gas mask. Witnesses said that he then threw a canister that released some kind of gas, after which a hissing sound ensued. The gunman then opened fire on the crowd packed into the early morning screening of the film, according to people in the theater at the time.

An explosive device was also found inside the theater. Police are unsure of whether the device, which investigators are calling a bomb, was already in place or whether it was thrown into the crowd.
Ambulances rushed to the scene as audience members fled the theater. Aurora’s police chief said that he cannot elaborate on women or children injured or dead in the shooting.

gma.yahoo.com/mass-shooting-colo-movie-theater-10-people-dead-085940681–abc-news-topstories.html

 

[GaryTaylor]

No terrorist group, or connection thus far, lone wolf, 14 dead 50 wounded…at least. Tragic. Wounded counts vary since some drove themselves to various Hosp.

 

[scipio337]

Lord, have mercy on those lost!

 

[FromTheAshes777]

Sending up prayers for all involved…God be with them.

 

[Charlotte408]

This is so horrible. It seems like any place where there is lots of people is a target now-a-days. Do they have any idea what the motive is behind this? Is it like a Columbine thing, a crazed DC comic fan? Some critic got death threats over this movie too… What gives??

I just keep thinking about the little girl that got hit…oh my gosh my heart

 

[TheRealJuliane]

That’s my old home town…it’s gone so far downhill now…

:bighanky:

Prayers to the families of the dead and for the wounded and their families.

 

[garn9173]

That’s news I didn’t want to see first thing in the morning while laying in bed checking news on my phone :sad_yes:

May God be with the families of the victims.

 

[scipio337]

This is so horrible. It seems like any place where there is lots of people is a target now-a-days. Do they have any idea what the motive is behind this? Is it like a Columbine thing, a crazed DC comic fan? Some critic got death threats over this movie too… What gives??

I just keep thinking about the little girl that got hit…oh my gosh my heart

I have two daughters, one the same age. I can’t imagine the amount of pain this family must feel, and it made me want to stay with them both all day (and every day!).

May God be with them!

 

[Reepicheep]

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.

Mother Mary, take these your children into your arms: place them under the mantle of your protection. Bring them to your divine Son, our Lord Jesus.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

I have two daughters, one the same age. I can’t imagine the amount of pain this family must feel, and it made me want to stay with them both all day (and every day!).

May God be with them!

But what parent takes a 6 year old to a violent movie at midnight? This poor child should have been home and in her bed peacefully sleeping! Stupid parents!

 

[GaryTaylor]

But what parent takes a 6 year old to a violent movie at midnight? This poor child should have been home and in her bed peacefully sleeping! Stupid parents!

Exactly, Hard to understand from a parents perspective.

 

[Scott_Lafrance]

I wonder how different things would have been if there were some responsible citizens in the crowd who were allowed to have their concealed carry weapons with them and were capable of responding in kind.

VIOLENT CRIMINALS SEEK OUT VICTIMS WHO CANNOT RETALIATE.

God Almighty, when are we going to learn this lesson? Gun control laws and practices are stupid.

 

[Jeanne_S]

Shades of Columbine My youngest daughter was a student at Columbine when that all came down. She is still dealing with the fallout,PTSD. Please pray for all the victims of this most recent tragedy,as well as those affected 13 years ago. God have Mercy

 

[Charlotte408]

But what parent takes a 6 year old to a violent movie at midnight? This poor child should have been home and in her bed peacefully sleeping! Stupid parents!

A 3 month old baby was hurt too

 

[GEddie]

I wonder how different things would have been if there were some responsible citizens in the crowd who were allowed to have their concealed carry weapons with them and were capable of responding in kind.

VIOLENT CRIMINALS SEEK OUT VICTIMS WHO CANNOT RETALIATE.

God Almighty, when are we going to learn this lesson? Gun control laws and practices are stupid.

What are the laws in Co. concerning guns in such places?

In any case, a crossfire hardly ensures that there would have been no victims.

 

[scipio337]

I wonder how different things would have been if there were some responsible citizens in the crowd who were allowed to have their concealed carry weapons with them and were capable of responding in kind.

VIOLENT CRIMINALS SEEK OUT VICTIMS WHO CANNOT RETALIATE.

God Almighty, when are we going to learn this lesson? Gun control laws and practices are stupid.

Indeed.

My second thought (after checking on both my daughters) was “Why wasn’t I there? I could have made a difference!”

gleamingedge.com/mirrors/onsheepwolvesandsheepdogs.html

 

[JustaServant]

I wonder how different things would have been if there were some responsible citizens in the crowd who were allowed to have their concealed carry weapons with them and were capable of responding in kind.

VIOLENT CRIMINALS SEEK OUT VICTIMS WHO CANNOT RETALIATE.

God Almighty, when are we going to learn this lesson? Gun control laws and practices are stupid.

Hard to say.
Darkened theater, people thought the gunfire was part of the movie (think about that for a while). Hindsight in a case like this is difficult.
I know the gun-control people will make politics out of this, but to me it speaks to a much deeper problem in our society. The gunman didn’t shoot up the premere of a new Disney movie.
Fake violence meets real violence. The sadism and fascination Hollywood has with all things bloody and gory has a real life price. We are in a barbaric age. We no longer care about life, death has become our culture. The new “cool”.

 

[Scott_Lafrance]

What are the laws in Co. concerning guns in such places?

In any case, a crossfire hardly ensures that there would have been no victims.

I almost certainly would have assured that there would have been less than 64 victims.

 

[eternalrest]

I wonder how different things would have been if there were some responsible citizens in the crowd who were allowed to have their concealed carry weapons with them and were capable of responding in kind.

VIOLENT CRIMINALS SEEK OUT VICTIMS WHO CANNOT RETALIATE.

God Almighty, when are we going to learn this lesson? Gun control laws and practices are stupid.

America is the most violent developed country on earth, second only to South Africa and Latin American countries such as Costa Rica and Mexico. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate Countries such as India, Israel, Lebanon, and Bangladesh have less homicide than we do as well as pretty much every other developed country: Japan, U.K., Germany, Netherlands. We need to figure out what makes us different from those other developed countries with much lower rates of violence such as the U.K. and implement peaceful solutions to lower crime.

Almost all violent vigilante groups, i.e. the KKK, the Black Panther Party have started because citizens were convinced of perceived police inadequacies. What’s the result? They take out their favored killers, sometimes make mistakes, and intensify the anger of other potential vigilantes, leading to a war zone.

The answer may lie in police records, which show that 50 suspicious-person reports were called in to police in the past year at Twin Lakes. There were eight burglaries, nine thefts and one other shooting in the year prior to Trayvon’s death.

In all, police had been called to the 260-unit complex 402 times from Jan. 1, 2011 to Feb. 26, 2012.

“He once caught a thief and an arrest was made,” said Cynthia Wibker, secretary of the homeowners association. “He helped solve a lot of crimes.”

Zimmerman told neighbors about stolen laptops and unsavory characters. Ibrahim Rashada, a 25-year-old African American who works at U.S. Airways, once spotted young men cutting through the woods entering the complex on foot, and later learned items were stolen those days.

“It’s a gated community, but you can walk in and steal whatever you want,” Rashada’s wife, Quianna, said.

They discussed the topic with Zimmerman when the watch captain knocked on their door late last year. Zimmerman seemed friendly, helpful, and a “pretty cool dude,” Ibrahim Rashada said.

“He came by here and talked about carrying guns and getting my wife more involved with guns,” he said. “He said I should have a weapon and that his wife took classes to learn how to use one.

“I do have a weapon, but I don’t walk around the neighborhood with mine!”

Actually, he does not walk around the neighborhood at all.

“I fit the stereotype he emailed around,” he said. “Listen, you even hear me say it: ‘A black guy did this. A black guy did that.’ So I thought, ‘Let me sit in the house. I don’t want anyone chasing me.’ ”

For walks, he goes downtown. A pregnant Quianna listened to her husband’s rationale, dropped her head, and cried.

“That’s so sad,” she said. “I hope our child doesn’t have to go through that.”

Travis Williams, a black 16-year-old who wears dreadlocks, said last year a man came to his house and accused him of stealing a bicycle. The police even came and checked the serial numbers on the bike in his garage.

Problems in the 6-year-old community started during the recession, when foreclosures forced owners to rent out to “low-lifes and gangsters,” said Frank Taaffe, a former neighborhood block captain.

“Just two weeks before this shooting, George called me at my girlfriend’s house to say he saw some black guy doing surveillance at my house, because I had a left a window open,” Taaffe said. “He thwarted a potential burglary of my house.”

Taaffe sounded chagrined when he noted that the complex is now majority-minority. Census figures show Retreat at Twin Lakes is 49 percent white, non-Hispanic, 23 percent Hispanic, 20 percent African-American and 5 percent Asian.

He suspects Zimmerman got tired of thugs “and reached his breaking point,” Taaffe said. “But why was he carrying a gun? Why not carry pepper spray or a Taser? That’s bizarre-o.”

Read more here: miamiherald.com/2012/03/17/2700249_p2/trayvon-martin-shooter-a-habitual.html#storylink=cpy

miamiherald.com/2012/03/17/2700249_p2/trayvon-martin-shooter-a-habitual.html

 

[TheRealJuliane]

A 3 month old baby was hurt too

I just heard that! What the heck is WRONG with people, taking a BABY out at midnight to a violent, LOUD movie!



As for people being allowed to take their guns into a theater…The conditions are not good for returning fire. You can’t see, you might shoot an innocent person by accident. Few people, even fairly good range marksmen, have the kind of experience it would take to be able to figure this situation out and try to take down the shooter. It would really take a military sniper or a SWAT member. Maybe if the shooter got close enough to where someone could really see…

I agree that licensed concealed handgun carriers should be able to take their weapons into most places of business but in this case, I can’t see that anyone would have been able to help…And the gunman was wearing Kevlar, which makes it even more difficult. Not impossible, just more difficult.