At least 12 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

[Dream]

DENVER, Colorado (Reuters) - A masked gunman killed 14 people at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie in a suburb of Denver early on Friday, sparking pandemonium when he hurled a teargas canister into the auditorium and opened fire on moviegoers.

Fifty others including children were wounded in the attack on the showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" in a mall in the Aurora suburb, some of whom were treated for the effects of tear gas, hospital officials said.

"This is a horrific event," Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates told a news conference, adding that a suspect was taken into custody in the parking lot behind the theater.

Police said the Aurora gunman had appeared at the front of the theater during the movie and released a canister which let out a hissing sound at the theater before gunfire erupted.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-shooting-denverbre86j0am-20120720,0,6584688.story

What a tragedy! Why did the guy even do this?

I'm surprised this hasn't happened before since theaters don't have security for midnight events like this with so many people. Will they need to hire an armed security guard from now on for all midnight showings?

 

[Forbin]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

See, this is why I only read marvel comics.

 

[Tom]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

i hope he does not say he was mocking Bane or Joker from the films or something.

 

[BillJ]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

See, this is why I only read marvel comics.

Not funny Forbin.

 

[Gaith]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

What a tragedy! Why did the guy even do this?

There can almost certainly be no possible answer to this question that would make it worth the effort of asking. We ought to leave it to the judge/jury/prison psychs. The better questions are, was anyone negligent in not reporting this guy as a lunatic, and why was he permitted to buy all these guns? Is this what a "well-regulated militia" looks like?

I mean, theaters don't have security. Will they need to hire an armed security guard from now on for all midnight showings?

No.


Incidentally, the fact that there were under-10 children in attendance is particularly awful. Their parents deserve a good spanking, or at the very least some parenting counseling, once/if they get over the trauma of the event.

 

[Rhaven]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

This is just awful.

 

[BillJ]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

Incidentally, the fact that there were under-10 children in attendance is particularly awful. Their parents deserve a good spanking, or at the very least some parenting counseling, once/if they get over the trauma of the event.

Bullshit. I've got three kids and two went and two went to Midnight releases before they were ten.

It is Summer, these kids don't have school the next day.

 

[Pingfah]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

I think he was probably referring to the content of the film being unsuitable for young children.

 

[Satyrquaze]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

Incidentally, the fact that there were under-10 children in attendance is particularly awful. Their parents deserve a good spanking, or at the very least some parenting counseling, once/if they get over the trauma of the event.

Don't you think they've been punished enough?

 

[Rhaven]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

The better questions are, was anyone negligent in not reporting this guy as a lunatic, and why was he permitted to buy all these guns? Is this what a "well-regulated militia" looks like?

Who knows how altered this guy was? He could have been someone you worked with or just walked by. You wouldn't know either.

Please don't make this about gun control. Having weapons doesn't make a person do something like this.

 

[Gaith]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

It is Summer, these kids don't have school the next day.

Oho? You know for a fact that none of the children in attendance had a summer school to go to today?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

The better questions are, was anyone negligent in not reporting this guy as a lunatic, and why was he permitted to buy all these guns? Is this what a "well-regulated militia" looks like?

Who knows how altered this guy was? He could have been someone you worked with or just walked by. You wouldn't know either.

Please don't make this about gun control. Having weapons doesn't make a person do something like this.

Although I can see your point, Gaith makes a good one, too. Guys like Jared Lee Loughner should've never been able to obtain guns. Is this another instance where a mentally ill person was able to heavily arm himself because of lax regulation? It's worth finding out.

I'll grant that we can't prevent all incidents like this, but we can certainly do more to keep guns out of the hands of mentally unstable individuals.

 

[Gaith]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

The better questions are, was anyone negligent

Who knows how altered this guy was? He could have been someone you worked with or just walked by. You wouldn't know either.

It's not at all uncommon for warning signs to be missed/ignored by family, coworkers, etc. In certain circumstances, I might well know, and so might you.

Please don't make this about gun control. Having weapons doesn't make a person do something like this.

Really? When was the last time someone murdered fourteen people with a butter knife? The fact that the suspect was peacefully apprehended suggests to me that he may be afraid of bodily harm.

 

[BillJ]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

It is Summer, these kids don't have school the next day.

Oho? You know for a fact that none of the children in attendance had a summer school to go to today?

Oh for fuck's sake. Do you get off on complaining?

Even if they did have school, the parents still have the right to take their kids to a movie. I doubt any parent thought the likelyhood of a movie premiere turning into a war zone was very high.

 

[Dream]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

CNN: Youngest Victim is 3 month old baby.

 

[Agent Richard07]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

What a tragedy! Why did the guy even do this?

Yeah, I wonder if he was some sort of fanatic who was "inspired" by this whole Dark Knight phenomenon.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

What a tragedy! Why did the guy even do this?

Yeah, I wonder if he was some sort of fanatic who was "inspired" by this whole Dark Knight phenomenon.

Oh, yeah. That'll be great. We can sit through six weeks of pop culture being blamed for one's man violence, again.

 

[Gaith]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

Why was a baby anywhere near the place?

I doubt any parent thought the likelyhood of a movie premiere turning into a war zone was very high.

I thought it was obvious I was saying that under-10 children shouldn't be seeing a movie this violent, particularly at that hour. Pingfah got it.

Their parents deserve a good spanking, or at the very least some parenting counseling, once/if they get over the trauma of the event.

Don't you think they've been punished enough?

It's helpful to think of counseling as an opportunity for growth and maturation rather than punishment.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

Why was a baby anywhere near the place?

What the hell is your problem? Do you have some compulsive need to pass judgment on the victims?

 

[Satyrquaze]

Re: 14 killed, 50 injured at midnight showing of Batman movie

^Well, I have heard them directly compare it to Columbine several times already.