Batman shooting: 14 people killed at Colorado cinema Witnesses say gunman wearing gas mask released smoke or teargas bomb before shooting people at Aurora cinema
Staff and agencies in Denver guardian.co.uk, Fri 20 Jul 2012 11.57 BST
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Fourteen people are dead and up to 50 injured in a Denver suburb after a masked gunman opened fire at a late-night screening of the new Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises.
Witnesses speaking to the local KOA radio station said the gunman was wearing a gas mask and had released a smoke or teargas bomb before the shooting started. One witness described to CNN a "guy slowly making his way up the stairs and firing, picking random people".
Police have taken a suspect into custody. A man said to be in his early 20s carrying a knife, rifle and handgun and wearing a bulletproof vest was arrested without a struggle in a car park behind the cinema.
The police chief in the Denver suburb of Aurora, where the shooting took place, said there was no evidence of a second gunman.
"This is a horrific event," Dan Oates told reporters. He said police had checked for explosives in the cinema and car park and secured both areas.
"Our hearts go out to all of the family. We have mobilised the witnesses that we could get our hands on to an area high school where de-briefings are under way," he said.
Local hospitals were alerted to a "mass casualty incident". Media reports said 10 people died at the scene and four died later in hospital.
A witness told CNN: "We heard anywhere from 10 to 20 shots and little explosions going on. Shortly after that we heard people screaming. Then they came on PA system and said everyone needed to get out. As soon as we got out, there were people running around and screaming."
Other witnesses said the gunman opened fire during a shootout scene in the movie, leading to confusion.
Police said the first emergency call was made at 00.39am local time.
A spokeswoman for Denver's Swedish Medical Center said three people had been admitted to the hospital with gunshot wounds and were in a critical condition.
Another hospital, Denver Health, had received six wounded, one of whom was in critical condition, a spokeswoman said.
Aurora is 10 miles south-east of the centre of Denver, Colorado.
My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families and friends. A massive amount of physical and emotional damage was inflicted on a large number of innocent people this morning...
"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare." ~Mark Twain
The thing that stood out toe was that a 3 month old was shot and killed. I'm assuming the parents took the child with them? Umm ... WTF.
Congrats, parents. You now have the pleasure of living with that guilt your entire life because you performed so bad at your job as parents.
You can say something about the parenting, but the fact is someone came in and shot 62 people at least. The child was not killed, it was treated and released at a local hospital.
An absolute f*cking tragic story..
The mother of this kid, once she heard it on the news, said she knew it was her son.. WTF?! Talk about terrible parenting????
Quote:
Originally Posted by http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/aurora-dark-knight-shooting-suspect-identified-james-holmes/story?id=16818889#.UAlt_6M2fsd
A San Diego woman who identified herself as James Holmes' mother told ABC News she had awoken unaware of the shooting and had not yet been contacted by authorities. She immediately expressed concern that her son may have been involved.
"You have the right person," she said, apparently speaking on gut instinct. "I need to call the police... I need to fly out to Colorado."
The thing that stood out toe was that a 3 month old was shot and killed. I'm assuming the parents took the child with them? Umm ... WTF.
Congrats, parents. You now have the pleasure of living with that guilt your entire life because you performed so bad at your job as parents.
And, it's also being reported that a 6-year-old who was taken to the hospital has now died.
It's really idiotic that some people think their desire to be entertained takes precedence over the welfare of their child(ren). While I'll defend their right and freedom to act stupidly, I reserve the right to call them idiots. Now they've paid a horrible price for their stupidity/selfishness.
"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare." ~Mark Twain
This is tragic for sure, but doesnt anybody in Colorado own a fucking gun!!!! I promise you this, there is no way more than 60 people are getting shot in a theatre im sitting in. Its called for the better good of the public. People these days.....
They should shoot this guy in the back of the head in public. When did we stop making examples out of these clowns.
Sure, both legally and illegally, so what's your point? Just like there could have been someone there with a gun that could have put an end to this and prevent so many lives lost or injured. It's not the gun that kills it's the person squeezing the trigger that kills.
This is what gets me:
Quote:
James Wilburn was sitting in the second row of theater 9 after midnight when an emergency door opened and a man entered, the Denver Post reports.
"He was dressed in black," Wilburn told the newspaper. "Wearing a flack jacket and a gas mask."
The man was carrying a shotgun and had a rifle strapped to his back, Wilburn said. The gunman then dropped a canister, causing a noxious gas to spew out. He raised the shotgun and repeatedly fired toward the back of the theater.
Wilburn and three friends dove to the floor, hiding behind seats in front of them. The gunman was only five or six feet away, he said.
Once the shotgun was empty, the gunman calmly dropped it to the floor, took the rifle and went on firing. Wilburn heard roughly 30 shots, the Denver Post reports.
Dude, your are 5 ft away and you are 4 deep. Not saying take one for the team, but geez he out of ammo and had to pull out the rifle to start shooting. That would have been a good time to Roll..
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Sure, both legally and illegally, so what's your point? Just like there could have been someone there with a gun that could have put an end to this and prevent so many lives lost or injured. It's not the gun that kills it's the person squeezing the trigger that kills.
This is what gets me:
Dude, your are 5 ft away and you are 4 deep. Not saying take one for the team, but geez he out of ammo and had to pull out the rifle to start shooting. That would have been a good time to Roll..
I agree. If I was too scared to try to prevent that guy when I could have then I wouldn't have said a thing. I wouldn't want people to know I just hid when guy ran out of ammo.
And now we will have more anti gun bullshit. Aleady have pelosi and Reid running their mouth.
It's a tragedy. And a disgrace that politicians will use it for their agenda.
If this guy wanted to kill then he would find a way. Gun or bottle of gas or whatever.
Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.
John F. Kennedy
This is so sad. But I would like to point out that many people these days allow themselves to be victimized. You have 60 people in a theater, some of them had to be somewhat close to the gunman. At some point you have to realize you're probably going to die whether you sit there and take a bullet or if you try and stop the gunman. It's just like the fights you see where one guy is terrorizing a woman or someone smaller than him and you'll have 10 grown men just standing there doing nothing. It's too bad no one else was packing. I know I'm debating it now just in case someone tries to copy this event.
As for babies, I drove up to Valencia to see Spiderman in iMax as I usually do for the big movies and they had what looked to be a 3 month old in the theater, crying most of the time. People paid $20 per ticket, most drove the hour or more to get there as we did, and had to hear a baby crying that was probably getting it's ears hurt from the loud sound system. I've seen people take babies to bars. Literally rough redneck bars that are known trouble spots. You look over and see a car seat sitting on the bar and literally don't know whether to call the cops or just leave.
They should definitely bring back torture. Lock this guy up, torture him every day for 10 years, put him in the general prison population and if he survives that for a few years, give him the chair.
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but the fact is someone came in and shot 62 people at least.
We have no idea how many people were shot. There are 62 dead and injured. There are probably a large number of people with injuries from being trampled.
Dumb shit like this is what makes me so eager to get my CHL in a few months. This shouldn't happen.
If only someone in that theater had also been carrying...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eviling
If you had a silver monte tou could i5 donated you montes bumper cover rear
I'lltell you what: It's very sad that no one had the gun to stop that sick bastard. If I were there and I always have a gun with me legally that mofo would be in morgue now not jail. one between the eyes and his bullet proof west would be useless. my wife probably would kill me after that for taking risk but that would be after the fact.we need more CWP holders in this country, not less. as of antigun politicians fuck them all, they can take my guns but they will have to kill me first.
BRUTE FORCE - IF IT DOESN'T WORK, YOU'RE JUST NOT USING ENOUGH !
He had a bullet proof vest, an ar15 style rifle, and had tossed out smoke grenades. The liklihood that anyone would have been able to stop him simply by having a gun seems pretty nill. It sounds like the police couldnt even operate in the room because of the gas. Not to mention how fast stuff like this happens. It seems pretty naive how fast some of you think you would react in such a situation.
not naive, anyone with proper threat assessment training could handle a situation like this fairly quickly with little to no collateral support or damage. No such thing as a bullet proof vest....all personal protection is rated as BR...bullet resistant. Double tap to the chest with a decent hand gun would have likely stunned the shooter for long enough to put him to the ground and effectively immobilize. Not sure if I would have personally bum rushed the guy while peeling off shots with a shot gun, but an AR is not the weapon of choice for close in combat....very effective of still targets, but not easy to hit close in moving ones.
Just for information sake, this was not looked up on google. This is from several hundred hours worth of ClassRoom and SimCenter Training and quite a bit of OJT.
What I really hope to not see in the aftermath is someones cell phone video from within the theater....If a capable person had the wherewithal to do something like shot video and not take a shot at the guy....that would be some cowardly shit in my book.
Thoughts and well condolences go out to all the families who have experienced loss or pain in this event.
Last edited by Complacent_One; 07-20-2012 at 12:20 PM..
not naive, anyone with proper threat assessment training could handle a situation like this fairly quickly with little to no collateral support or damage. No such thing as a bullet proof vest....all personal protection is rated as BR...bullet resistant. Double tap to the chest with a decent hand gun would have likely stunned the shooter for long enough to put him to the ground and effectively immobilize. Not sure if I would have personally bum rushed the guy while peeling off shots with a shot gun, but an AR is not the weapon of choice for close in combat....very effective of still targets, but not easy to hit close in moving ones.
Just for information sake, this was not looked up on google. This is from several hundred 100's worth of ClassRoom and SimCenter Training and quite a bit of OJT.
What I really hope to not see in the aftermath is someones cell phone video from within the theater....If a capable person had the wherewithal to do something like shot video and not take a shot at the guy....that would be some cowardly shit in my book.
Thoughts and well condolences go out to all the families who have experienced loss or pain in this event.
Proper training is the key. now try wearing a west and get one in the chest, then we talk. it`s like baseball bat at full swing. most people can't stand after that.
BRUTE FORCE - IF IT DOESN'T WORK, YOU'RE JUST NOT USING ENOUGH !
He had a bullet proof vest, an ar15 style rifle, and had tossed out smoke grenades
They have already changed it to an AK style rifle. His "vest" could have been anything from a real bullet resistant vest (none are bullet proof) to a tactical vest like I wear during training classes. It wouldn't stop most air soft rounds.
Quote:
Originally Posted by perfecxionx
The liklihood that anyone would have been able to stop him simply by having a gun seems pretty nill.
But not trying guarantees that no one will stop him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by perfecxionx
It seems pretty naive how fast some of you think you would react in such a situation.
That's why you practice and train while under stress.
Proper training is the key. now try wearing a west and get one in the chest, then we talk. it`s like baseball bat at full swing. most people can't stand after that.
Been there....done that....
Also had the bat square to the chest as a youngster...bad move!!
Glad I was not there, but for the sake of all the people involved, wish there would have been someone with the same training and attitude.
Anyways...it sucks, and hope it does not scare too many people from going out and having a good time!!
He had a bullet proof vest, an ar15 style rifle, and had tossed out smoke grenades. The liklihood that anyone would have been able to stop him simply by having a gun seems pretty nill. It sounds like the police couldnt even operate in the room because of the gas. Not to mention how fast stuff like this happens. It seems pretty naive how fast some of you think you would react in such a situation.
I didn't say I would have jumped up and been hero. I said I wouldn't be telling the media I was a coward. The dude will have to live with the "what if" but he didn't have to get his 15 minutes of fame for being scared
Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.
John F. Kennedy
Batman movie massacre
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