Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Colorado

[Captain Craig]

Mods move as necessary, wasn't fully sure the forum to use as it's a news item.

14 DEAD at midnight showing of Dark Knight Rises in Colorado

A shooting at a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., early today has left at least 14 people dead and at least 50 people injured, authorities confirmed.
Police now have now apprehended a 24-year-old male and recovered a gun after the shooting at approximately 12:30 a.m. 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. The man then threw a canister that released some kind of gas, after which a hissing sound ensued, and he then opened fire on the crowd packed into the early-morning screening of the film, according to people in the theater at the time.
"They got up and they started to run through the emergency exit, she said that when she turned around, all she saw was the guy slowly making his way up the stairs and just firing at people, just picking random people," a man talked to a couple who was inside the theater told ABC News.
Of the six victims were taken to Children's Hospital in Aurora, the youngest was 6 years old.

Such sad news, developing story obviously.

 

[Kirby]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

I woke up to this news about half an hour ago. Extremely sad and disturbing that someone could do this to a theater full of people who are just there to see a movie.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families, and everyone who was there.
Kudos to the police for catching this guy before he could do anything else. Apparently he was caught in the parking lot and admitted that he had explosives in his car and in his apartment. The last report was that his apartment complex was being evacuated.

I live in Arvada, Colorado which is a northwest suburb of Denver, and Aurora is a southeast suburb. My ten year-old son loves to go to movies. I'm not sure how we're going to explain this to him when he wakes up.

 

[bbailey861]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

I also woke up this news this morning. I understand the perpetrator did not put up a fight when he surrendered. Too bad - a bullet in the head would have been nice.

 

[Captain Craig]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

I heard the casualty count may be coming down to 12 now? Unconfirmed.

 

[E-DUB]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

I do not want to know his name. I do not want to know his motives. Publicizing killers who kill for publicity turns the media int accessories after-the-fact. If the Colombine shooters had only been refered to in the media as "Morons number 1 and 2" and any subsequent mass shooters given subsequent numbers, my bet is that we'd see a lot less of this kind of stuff.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

I do not want to know his name. I do not want to know his motives. Publicizing killers who kill for publicity turns the media int accessories after-the-fact. If the Colombine shooters had only been refered to in the media as "Morons number 1 and 2" and any subsequent mass shooters given subsequent numbers, my bet is that we'd see a lot less of this kind of stuff.

There's certainly something to that in the Breivik case. They should have gone with the John McLane appelation "Fuckhead"

 

[Gryffindorian]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

This is just terrible. I heard the news on the radio on my way to work. I wonder what the killer's motives were, not that it even matters at this point. He should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

 

[Enterprise is Great]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

This piece of human vomit should have killed himself instead. What a total douche.

 

[susanmary428]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

Terrible, awful news and circumstances. My prayers and thoughts are with the victims and their families. How sad that people can't even go to the movies anymore without wondering if they'll make it home.

 

[Star Wolf]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

Mods move as necessary, wasn't fully sure the forum to use as it's a news item.



Such sad news, developing story obviously.

The discussion seems to be on a dedicated thread in SF&F

 

[gturner]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

The police released some details.

He's unemployed with a master's degree in neuroscience, and apparently obsessed with the Joker, so his motives are probably right in the previous movies.

"Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

"This town deserves a better class of criminal, and I'm gonna give it to them."

"Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes...chaos. I'm an agent of chaos."

"Tonight, you're all going to be a part of a 'social experiment.'"

 

[Gryffindorian]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

I thought (based on initial reports) that he was a graduate student working on his neuroscience degree.

Strangely, the other night I was watching Morgan Freeman's Through the Wormhole, and the topic was about psychopaths and evil minds. What drives people to do the horrendous things they do? Is it nature, nurture, or both? Is there a biological or genetic factor that makes a person insanely violent? One finding is that there appear to be discrepancies in the brain structure around the amygdala between a psychopath and a normal person. On the other hand, a person who's predisposed to be violent may not necessarily act upon it, while Average Joe who's been through some difficult situations suddenly goes on a shooting rampage.

 

[gturner]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

I think he was pursuing his PhD, but already had his masters. As has been noted, many people with a screw loose are attracted to psychology. He was also employed as a janitor at the theatre, which is possibly another pair of strikes (obsessed with movies and can't find a job in his field), and his mother seemed to think her son was nuts and would do something like this.

 

[Showdown]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

What a horrible tragedy. My prayers goes out to the victums and their families.

 

[PopBoy]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

Horrible. Absolutely horrendous.

 

[NebulaClassGuy]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

Some folks just can't let others just enjoy a night at the movies... sheesh.

 

[Data Holmes]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

I think he was pursuing his PhD, but already had his masters. As has been noted, many people with a screw loose are attracted to psychology. He was also employed as a janitor at the theatre, which is possibly another pair of strikes (obsessed with movies and can't find a job in his field), and his mother seemed to think her son was nuts and would do something like this.

I have to wonder if he took the job at the movies as part of his "plan". Working there would give him the lay of the land, he would know the corners, the hiding places, and every lapsed security measure.

Everything says this guy was high functioning. We've known this movie was coming out for how long now? If he was specifically going to target it it would give him plenty of time to plan it out, and getting a job at the location of your hit is a great way to gather intel.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

Sad and senseless.

 

[gturner]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

I think he was pursuing his PhD, but already had his masters. As has been noted, many people with a screw loose are attracted to psychology. He was also employed as a janitor at the theatre, which is possibly another pair of strikes (obsessed with movies and can't find a job in his field), and his mother seemed to think her son was nuts and would do something like this.

I have to wonder if he took the job at the movies as part of his "plan". Working there would give him the lay of the land, he would know the corners, the hiding places, and every lapsed security measure.

Everything says this guy was high functioning. We've known this movie was coming out for how long now? If he was specifically going to target it it would give him plenty of time to plan it out, and getting a job at the location of your hit is a great way to gather intel.

Very good point. If he was willing to be a janitor in a movie theater and had a college degree, there were lots of other low level jobs he could've taken. It's far more likely that he picked the job to advance his plan, rather than having the job and then suddenly developing a psychosis over an upcoming Batman movie.

 

[Captain Craig]

Re: Dark Knight Rises midnight show: 14 DEAD in mass shooting in Color

They still haven't gotten into his apartment. It's so well rigged and booby trapped that they took a break and will be resuming today.
This guy is a real piece of work. I kinda thought crazies like this went for a "death by cop" but they took him fairly easy given the situation. Did he want to get taken? Is he eager for a trail? Publicity? What else may be going on in his head?