Batman US cinema shooting: 12 dead in Colorado

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Amateur video posted on YouTube is said to show the scene immediately after the shooting

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At least 12 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a shooting at a midnight cinema showing of the new Batman film near Denver, Colorado.


Witnesses said a man wearing a gas mask opened fire after tossing a tear gas canister in the auditorium as movie-goers watched The Dark Knight Rises.

A 24-year-old local man was arrested in a car park nearby in possession of a rifle, handgun and knife.
Another gun was recovered from the theatre, in the city of Aurora.

Police revised down the death toll from 14 earlier. They said about 50 people had been shot, including the deceased.

FBI sources named the gunman as Aurora resident James Holmes, a white American. They said no terrorism link had been established.


Child casualties
US President Barack Obama has spoken of his shock at the incident, which began at about 00:30 local time (06:30 GMT) at the Century 16 cinema multiplex.

The suspect told police explosives were at his home.Police chief Dan Oates told reporters that an apartment block in the north of Aurora had been evacuated as they investigated that information.

He said the shooting was "a horrific event".

"The shooting apparently went on for some time," he added.

Witnesses said the gunman opened fire during an action scene in the summer blockbuster. There were scenes of chaos as movie-goers, some dressed in costume as heroes and villains, scrambled for the exits.
Ten people were killed at the cinema and two others died later in hospital of their wounds.

Many ambulances attended the scene.

About 50 people were taken to four hospitals, some suffering from the effects of chemical exposure from the canister thrown by gunman.

The casualties included a four-month-old baby, who was released from hospital after treatment, and a six-year-old child.

One witness said a man in a bullet-proof vest and riot helmet had been "slowly making his way up the stairs and just firing - picking random people".


Panic
Another witness, Chayyiel Jackson, told the BBC: "During the first action scene in the movie, on the right side a dude came in all blacked out, with a black mask. At first we thought it was part of the movie event.

"He threw tear gas across the crowd and after that people started to panic. He pulled out a rifle and started shooting.

"I was wondering if this was real life or a dream."

It is reported that some of the shots fired went through the wall and may have hit people in an adjacent auditorium.

Another eyewitness, identified only as Pam, told the BBC: "He fired a canister into the air. It shot it right into the air, then I started to hear the bang, bang, bang of a gun.

"I crawled my way through the row. Luckily the exit was close to where I was sitting so I got out pretty fast. I heard more shots as I left."

Another eyewitness, Salina Jordan, 19, told the Denver Post she had seen one girl shot in the cheek, and a girl who appeared to be about nine years old with a gunshot wound to the stomach.

A witness in the next-door theatre told 9News he initially thought live special effects had been laid on by the cinema after hearing loud bangs and seeing smoke.

President Obama said in a statement that he and First Lady Michelle Obama were "shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting".

He added: "As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family."

Plans for Friday night's red carpet premiere of the film on the Champs-Elysees in Paris have been cancelled, while media interviews with its stars have been called off.


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Article from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18921492

 
This is the first headline I read in the morning because I was looking for more reviews of the movie. It's a sad and tragic story. RIP to the ones who died.
 
So very sad. Randomly shooting, killing innocent people (children). I can't imagine the parents and family members whose worlds have been shattered.
 
such a horrible thing, this is why i carry at all times never know when some nut job is going to try and do something like this
 
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Jessica Ghawi, survivor of June mall shooting, killed in Colorado theater
Jul 20, 2012 12:48 p.m.

A young woman who escaped the June 2 shooting at the Toronto Eaton Centre Mall that left one dead was gunned down at the midnight screening of "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado on Thursday morning, People.com reports.

Jessica Ghawi, an aspiring sportscaster, had been Tweeting about the movie and conversing with Jesse Spector, a national hockey writer for Sporting News.

"The thing that stood out to me most about Jessica was how sharp-witted she was, and funny at that," Spector told People.com after learning of her death. "She had such a bright future in this business, because people like that find a way to succeed."

Last month, Ghawi wrote on her blog about narrowly avoiding the June 2 shooting that killed 24-year old Ahmed Hassan.

"I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday. I saw the terror on bystanders' faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change," she wrote. "I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing."

IMAGE FROM: KDVR.com

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainmen...led-in-colorado-theater-report/#ixzz21BKnJrx3
 
I haven't had the news on, and have only seen a few articles online. Has it said how he was able to enter the theater with an AR-15 without being noticed? It's not exactly a small weapon to conceal like a handgun.
 
Not sure. Tons of people were in there dressed up for the movie so I dunno. Apparently mashable has been trying to see if there is any history on this dude but he seems hidden from the Internet
 
i thought i read that he entered from one of the exits that lead outside, his car was parked in the rear of the theater too if i remember correctly
 
yeah, I just read a thing saying that he entered apparently from the front right emergency exit door (by the screen), but they don't know how he got the door open? So it's not like walked in through the actual theater entrance with the other customers.
 
He probably went in before the movie started and left the door cracked so he could get in from the outside. Or someone opened it for him.
 
AP Source: Colo. shooting suspect not cooperating
Updated: 7 minutes ago
By ELLIOT SPAGAT and JULIE WATSON
Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The suspect in a shooting that killed or wounded 71 people early Friday in a suburban Denver movie theater is not talking to investigators, a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in discussing the ongoing case. The person also said police found jars of chemicals in James Holmes' booby trapped Aurora apartment with wires nearby.

Those who knew the 24-year-old describe him as a shy, intelligent person raised in California by parents who were active in their well-to-do suburban neighborhood.

Holmes, who was studying neuroscience in a Ph.D. program in Colorado, grew up in San Diego, where his parents still live on a quiet, street of two-story homes with red tile roofs. He played soccer at Westview High School and ran cross country before going to college.

Neighbors say the family belonged to a Presbyterian church and hosted a Christmas party for residents. Many families choose the San Diego neighborhood because it is part of the well-regarded Poway Unified School District, one of the best in California.

On Friday morning, police escorted the suspect's father, a manager of a software company, from their San Diego home. The mother, a nurse, stayed inside, receiving family visitors who came to offer support. The suspect also has a younger sister.

San Diego police spokeswoman Lt. Andra Brown, spoke to reporters in the driveway of the Holmes' home, on behalf of the family.

"As you can understand, the Holmes family is very upset about all of this," she said. "It's a tragic event and it's taken everyone by surprise. They are definitely trying to work through this."

The family in a written statement said "our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the families and friends of those involved. We ask that the media respect our privacy during this difficult time."

Police in Colorado said Holmes fired into a crowded movie theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora while wearing a gas mask, killing 12 people and wounding 59 others. He was in police custody in Colorado and the FBI said there was no indication the attack was tied to any terrorist groups.

There have been no indications so far that Holmes had any run-ins with the law before Friday. San Diego Superior Court spokeswoman Karen Dalton said there were no records found under his name, not even for a traffic ticket. Riverside County prosecutors also have no criminal record for him, said John Hall, a spokesman for the district attorney's office.

A furniture mover who lives several blocks from the suspect's Aurora apartment building said he shared a beer with him Tuesday at a neighborhood bar where they talked about Denver Bronco Peyton Manning.

Jackie Mitchell said he recognized Holmes' photo on television as the guy he met at the bar. He described him as smart with a "swagger."

"We just talked about football. He had a backpack and geeky classes and seemed like a real intelligent guy and I figured he was one of the college students," he said.

There was no reference made to a planned shooting, Mitchell said.

Anthony Mai, a 16-year-old who grew up next door to Holmes, said Holmes largely kept to himself but his behavior was nothing out of the ordinary.

"He felt a little bit concealed, but it wasn't too much. It was alright" he said. "This is just a feeling in my gut, but I felt like he had something, like he was being picked on or something."

His father, Tom Mai, a retired electrical engineer, said he was a "shy guy" who came from a "very, very nice family."

Rose To said the Holmes family set up chairs in their garage for the Christmas party a few years ago, giving neighbors a chance to mingle.

"They were really nice people, good neighbors," she said.

Mai said the mother told him the suspect couldn't find a job after earning a master's degree from a University of California school and so went back for another degree.

Holmes graduated from University of California, Riverside, in the spring of 2010 with a bachelor of science degree in neuroscience, said university spokesman Sean Nealon. No other details were immediately available about his life on campus, Nealon said.

In 2011, Holmes enrolled in the Ph.D. neuroscience program at the University of Colorado-Denver but was in the process of withdrawing, said spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery. University officials earlier said he was a student at the university's medical school.
 
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