MULTIPLEX MASSACRE: 13 Dead After Shooting at Colorado ‘Batman’ Opening; UPDATE: Suspect Identified by Police as 24-Year-Old James Holmes; UPDATE: ABC News Interviews Suspect’s Mother? UPDATE: Despicable — Stephanopoulos Implicates Tea Party in Tragedy

Posted on | July 20, 2012 | 46 Comments

At least 14 people are dead in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado, after a gunman opened fire inside a movie theater.

UPDATE: Ten people were shot dead inside the theater, which was crowded with patrons watching the opening of the new “Batman” movie; while four more victims died at local hospitals or en route to hospitals. Police say 50 others were wounded.

UPDATE II: CBS News reports:

The violent and chaotic scene erupted about 12:30 a.m. local time as a gunman stood at the front of one of the Century 16 theaters at the Aurora Mall where the latest Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” was playing, police said.
“Witnesses tell us he released some sort of canister. They heard a hissing sound and some gas emerged and the gunman opened fire,” Oates said at a news conference.
Police, ambulances and emergency crews swarmed on the scene after frantic calls started flooding the 911 switchboard, officials said.
Officers found the gunman near a car behind the theater.
“A gas mask, rifle, handgun at least one additional weapon (were) found inside” he said.

There are reports that the gunman was a 24-year-old resident of North Aurora. He is in custody and police reportedly have evacuated the apartment complex where the suspect lived.

UPDATE III: NBC News reports:

An FBI official told NBC News that the agency was working with local authorities on the investigation, but that there was no early indication of a link to politically-motivated terrorism. President Obama had been notified by counterterrorism chief John Brennan and was aware of the incident, KUSA said.
Police raiding the theater in the hunt for the suspect had to ask for gasmasks.
“Get us some damn gas masks for theater 9, we can’t get in it,” one officer radioed back to emergency dispatch, according to an excerpt aired on KUSA, during the operation.

There are reports that young children are among those killed during this unexplained murder spree.

UPDATE IV: Blogger Jaime Marshall was inside Theater 8, adjoining the theater in which the shootings occurred. She tweets that she and her date actually had tickets for Theater 9, but decided instead to go to the less-crowded theater next door. Both theaters were showing The Dark Knight Rises.

UPDATE V: Permit me to state that, so far, there is no information about the gunman’s motives. All we have been told so far is that the gunman is a 6-foot-tall white male. The fact that law enforcement have reportedly ruled out political terrorism would seem to suggest that this is a “deranged loner” type of incident. If there is any other motive, we will learn it in due course but, based on past experience in covering such crimes, I advise commenters it is best not to speculate on motives.

UPDATE VI: The Denver Post reports:

A 24-year-old suspect in is custody and an apartment building in north Aurora connected to the suspect was being evacuated and searched for possible explosives . . .
[T]he man in custody had made a statement about possible explosives in his residence.
Police have blocked off a three-block area around an apartment complex in north Aurora.

Via Memeorandum, with further blogging by Outside the Beltway and The Gateway Pundit.

CNN reports:

Police arrested a man believed to be the shooter in a rear parking lot of the theater, Frank Fania, a police spokesman, told CNN. The suspect was not immediately identified, though Fania said he was believed to be in his early 20s.
“He did not resist. He did not put up a fight,” Fania said. Police seized a rifle and a handgun from the suspect, and another gun was found in the theater, he said.

UPDATE VII: Linked by Bill Quick at Daily Pundit, who eschews caution as to the gunman’s motives. Until we get some more definite information, I again urge commenters to stick to the facts. Early reports on incidents like this tend to be confusing. If you wait a few hours — at least until the suspect is named — questions of motive will become easier to answer.

UPDATE VIII: OK, we now have a name for the suspected gunman, ABC News reports:

The young man who is in custody after allegedly gunning down 12 people in a mass shooting spree overnight in Aurora, Colorado has been identified as local resident James Holmes, according to federal authorities.
Law enforcement officials and witnesses told ABC News Holmes wore what appeared to be a bullet-proof vest and riot-type mask as he opened fire in a movie theater with three weapons at a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises.” In addition to the 12 deaths, at least 50 people were injured, according to police.
Local news reports showed aerial video of police cautiously searching Holmes’ apartment, some five miles from the Century Aurora 16 theater, as the suspect reportedly told police he had explosives inside.

Note that this ABC News report reduces the number of dead to 12, instead of the 14 that were previously reported by other news organizations. Even the number of victims tends to be confused in early reports, which is why caution is so important.

UPDATE IX: While it is unwise to speculate on the killer’s motive, commenters point out that this “Batman” movie aroused intense emotion even before it was released. A reviewer at Rotten Tomatoes who panned the film was subjected to death threats from commenters:

For Rotten Tomatoes, that was enough. The website shut down the commenting feature on all “Dark Knight Rises” reviews. Rotten Tomatoes Editor-in-chief Matt Atchiity wrote, “There are plenty of other things to get angry about, like war, famine, poverty and crime. But not movie reviews.”
“These ‘crazy people’ have already locked themselves into liking the film,” says Collider.com film reviewer Matt Goldeberg. “They’ve been hit with so much marketing from the studios that they feel like they have invested time, energy, and passion into the film even before they have seen it. For someone to say, ‘it’s not good’ is not an acceptable answer to them.”

UPDATE X: Associated Press with eyewitness accounts:

“I told my friend `we’ve got to get out of here,’ but then he shot people trying to go out the exits,” Jennifer Seeger told NBC’s “Today.” She said the shooter made his way up the aisle, firing as he went, saying nothing.
Some of those injured are children, including a 3-month-old infant who was shot.
Police earlier said 14 people were dead, but later revised the number to at least 12. . . .
Witness Shayla Roeder said she saw a young teenage girl on the ground bleeding outside the theater.
“She just had this horrible look in her eyes …. We made eye contact and I could tell she was not all right,” Roeder said.

Via Hot Air Headlines.

UPDATE XI: Watching the TV news this morning, you understand why speculation about motive is so common. Cable TV hosts in a New York studio have to fill airtime with something, and they bring on “experts” who start blabbing about psychological or political motives.

My opinion of “experts” is nearly as low as my opinion of “TV news.”

It’s a professional bias. During more than two decades in the newspaper business, I long ago became accustomed to, and resentful of, the idiotic sensationalism of TV talking heads. Especially when breaking news like this happens, the talking-head compulsion to keep blabbing, interviewing “experts” and endlessly re-running the same video footage, cable TV news is just about the worst possible way to gather information. Give me facts and stop speculating!

You’ll notice that “why” comes at the end of the classic “5 Ws” formula: Who, what, when, where and why. Until we have some clear indications about the motive, it is ridiculous to “report” guesswork, even if “experts” are doing the guessing. This reminds me of another Colorado story:

In April 1999, newspaper op-ed pages, weekly news magazines and cable-TV networks were swamped with “experts” offering competing theories for the massacre at Columbine High School. Psychologists, culture critics, religious leaders, gun-control activists, think-tank wonks — for about two weeks after the shootings, the expert analysts were ubiquitous.
Ultimately, however, the best explanation of Columbine came from comedian Chris Rock: “Whatever happened to crazy?”

“What, you can’t be crazy no more? Did we eliminate ‘crazy’ from the dictionary? . . . When l was a kid, they used to separate the crazy kids from everybody. When l was a kid, the crazy kids went to school in a little-a– bus. They had a class at the end of the school . . . Just in case they went crazy, they would only hurt other crazy kids. And we was all safe.”

UPDATE XII: More about the Aurora suspect, James Holmes:

The gunman, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest and dressed entirely in black, was not on any watch list that would have alerted authorities that he was dangerous, officials said. The incident was not believed to have any connection to international terrorism, they added.
The car Holmes was driving had Tennessee plates, but police sources told NBC News that they believed he had been living locally. Federal authorities told NBC News that Holmes has no military history.

Here’s NBC News video:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

UPDATE XIII: Thanks to a commenter for this news item:

A San Diego woman identifying herself as James Holmes’s mother spoke briefly with ABC News this morning.
She had awoken unaware of the news of the shooting and had not been contacted by authorities. She immediately expressed concern that her son may have been involved.
“You have the right person,” she said.
“I need to call the police,” she added. “I need to fly out to Colorado.”

“You have the right person.” If this is accurate and authentic, the reaction of the suspect’s mother may indicate a history of mental illness. Otherwise, why would she have reason to believe her son was actually involved?

More updates at Hot Air.

UPDATE XIV: Today’s obligatory media bias emetic:

On Good Morning America, ABC News’ Brian Ross and George Stephanolpoulos suggested that the Tea Party might be connected to the mass shootings early this morning . . .

Right: Because Tea Party people hate “Batman” movies. Deficit spending, high taxes, government regulation and “Batman” movies.

Meanwhile, we have actual news: A 6-year-old girl wounded in the shooting has now died, bringing the official death total to 13.

UPDATE XV: Linked by The Lonely Conservative, who bemoans the politicization of this horrific crime. This is something that gripes me about the 21st-century media: Everything is now political.

Why? Because so many people in the media come to their jobs with a political agenda, rather than a commitment to facts. Not that facts and politics can’t co-exist, but some people have a bad habit of putting the political cart in front of the factual horse.

If everything — everything — is about scoring points for your political “team,” you probably need to stay the hell away from the news business.

UPDATE XVI: Linked by the Rio Norte Line — thanks!

UPDATE XVII:

New label for the coordinated Lefty effort to blame conservatives for any tragedy: Smyramid Scheme

— Chris Smith (@smitty_one_each) July 20, 2012

—

Category: Colorado, Crime

Comments

46 Responses to “MULTIPLEX MASSACRE: 13 Dead After Shooting at Colorado ‘Batman’ Opening; UPDATE: Suspect Identified by Police as 24-Year-Old James Holmes; UPDATE: ABC News Interviews Suspect’s Mother? UPDATE: Despicable — Stephanopoulos Implicates Tea Party in Tragedy”

crosspatch
July 20th, 2012 @ 7:16 am

I *really* want to know this SOB’s name and I really hope he isn’t connected with any OWS groups.
Zilla of the Resistance
July 20th, 2012 @ 7:35 am

When I still living in the ‘burbs, there was a mass shooting at a movie theater in a nearby LI town, during The God Father III, at the Green Acres Mall Theater in Valley Stream, on Long Island. That incident turned out to be gang related. Green Acres Mall began devolving into a very nasty place a few decades ago, and violent crimes (including rapes and kidnappings), along with robbery, had become quite common by the 1990s. The shooting was in 1990. More recently, someone was trampled to death at a black Friday sale at Walmart a few years ago.
The area is NOT a nice neighborhood although it used to be wonderful. Any clues as to what kind of neighborhood the CO movie theater was in?
PaulLemmen
July 20th, 2012 @ 7:45 am

Prayers for the families of those killed and for swift healing for those wounded. The dead are beyond our care except for prayers for the repose of their souls. Such a sad way to begin my Friday, reading this chronicle of the event. Such savagery and senseless loss of life seems to be the unintended consequence of the efforts of the cultural Marxists to destroy American society from within.
George
July 20th, 2012 @ 7:46 am

It may not have been policital.

It was a BATMAN movie, perhaps the killer was acting like a villian from the series. Sounds like something the Joker would do.
Alan Makus
July 20th, 2012 @ 8:04 am

I seem to recall that last week Rotten Tomatoes had to shut down comments about this movie – commenters were getting way too vicious. Something about this movie must set people off. Suspect this is some kind of cultural thing that has nothing to do with politics.
Massacre In Colorado | Daily Pundit
July 20th, 2012 @ 8:04 am

[…] In Colorado Posted on July 20, 2012 5:04 am by Bill Quick MULTIPLEX MASSACRE: 14 Dead After Shooting in Colorado at ‘Batman’ Opening : The Other M… At least 14 people are dead in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado, after a gunman opened fire […]
Alan Makus
July 20th, 2012 @ 8:11 am

Here it is:

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Raises Ugly Debate on Rotten Tomatoes

The comments ranged from short, simple cursing all the way up to death threats. One poster said he wanted Fine to die in a fire. Another fantasized about beating Fine to death with a thick rubber hose. For Rotten Tomatoes, that was enough. The website shut down the commenting feature on all “Dark Knight Rises” reviews. Rotten Tomatoes Editor-in-chief Matt Atchiity wrote, “There are plenty of other things to get angry about, like war, famine, poverty and crime. But not movie reviews.”

“These ‘crazy people’ have already locked themselves into liking the film,” says Collider.com film reviewer Matt Goldeberg. “They’ve been hit with so much marketing from the studios that they feel like they have invested time, energy, and passion into the film even before they have seen it. For someone to say, ‘it’s not good’ is not an acceptable answer to them
Red
July 20th, 2012 @ 8:27 am

This is what happens when we cater to the LCD of our society: senseless acts of violence. Pardon my speculation but my bet is that the shooter was already disturbed or disgruntled with something he blames society for and took to acting out his batman villain fantasies against a captive audience. What a total loser. It is so hard to resist the temptation to generalize because most of the readers of this blog can probably guess where my thoughts are going with this so, shutting up now…
Red
July 20th, 2012 @ 8:29 am

Yet this won’t stop people/pundits/spokesholes/public officials from trying to tie this in with politics. The morning DJs already have their marching orders and are calling for gun control.
Red
July 20th, 2012 @ 8:30 am

No, it’s what a loser thug does. The Joker character is more creative with his chaos ::pardon my inner geek::
Red
July 20th, 2012 @ 8:31 am

I don’t believe any of it’s unintended as far as that group is concerned.
14 People Shot Dead At Denver Batman Opening | The Rio Norte Line
July 20th, 2012 @ 8:51 am

[…] The Other McCain has updates… 55.957870 -3.199357 Share this:FacebookEmailPrintRedditTwitterStumbleUponDiggLinkedInLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. Posted in Crime and Punishment […]
JeffS
July 20th, 2012 @ 9:27 am

Hot Air refers to an ABC article where they contacted the suspect’s mother. She was extremely concerned, but unsurprised.

A San Diego woman identifying herself as James Holmes’s mother spoke briefly with ABC News this morning.

She had awoken unaware of the news of the shooting and had not been
contacted by authorities. She immediately expressed concern that her son
may have been involved.

“You have the right person,” she said.

“I need to call the police,” she added. “I need to fly out to Colorado.”
Evilbloggerlady
July 20th, 2012 @ 9:40 am

He ran afterwards, so he is not insane.
smbren
July 20th, 2012 @ 9:43 am

What a horrible way to wake up in the morning. Prayers to all.
Dave
July 20th, 2012 @ 9:49 am

Forget crazy, the real problem is that our modern, secular, relativistic society denies that evil exists. This dude may be crazy. He may also simply be evil. We should be fighting evil, but modern society can’t handle the fact that evil exists, so instead of confronting that they try to deny and excuse evil. The results are no surprise to anyone with any kind of moral compass.
JeffWeimer
July 20th, 2012 @ 10:06 am

Right on cue, Bloomberg is rocking his hobbyhorse: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78758.html

Also, Steffi at ABC news rocks the Tea Party hobbyhorse: http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/07/aurora-abc-draws-possible-tea-party-connection-129568.html

Shameless hacks. I wouldn’t be surprised if he felt part of the 99%, but that’s pure conjecture on my part.
Batman Massacre is Already Being Politicized | The Lonely Conservative
July 20th, 2012 @ 10:09 am

[…] is Already Being PoliticizedJuly 20, 2012 By Lonely Conservative No comments yetA few hours ago a madman opened fire in a Colorado movie theater, killing at least twelve innocent people. The tragedy is still unfolding, but some people just […]
MM
July 20th, 2012 @ 10:14 am

Good ol’ ABC, a day late and a dollar short. Again. Breitbart has already debunked that this guy is a Tea Party member. Do they do any actual, you know, investigative reporting at ABC any more, or is it all just politically biased speculation?
JackieLynn Wellfonder
July 20th, 2012 @ 10:39 am

Heartbreaking 🙁
richard mcenroe
July 20th, 2012 @ 11:15 am

The Dark Knight Rises 99% trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GokKUqLcvD8

Nolan may have made a conservative movies, but they SOLD it to the Occupy crowd. Wonder who’s upset about that?
JeffS
July 20th, 2012 @ 11:26 am

F**k the Lame Stream Media, and the jackass they rode in on.
Gunman Goes Nuts. Progressives Blame Guns. Nothing Changes. « Andrew J. Patrick
July 20th, 2012 @ 11:33 am

[…] The reaction of the progressive types to shootings have a quality of ritual to them. It’s rather like starting a witch hunt after a bad harvest or a cholera epidemic. A handful of bogeys are always invoked: […]
» Aurora, CO shooting - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
July 20th, 2012 @ 11:34 am

[…] The Other McCain and HotAir have updates on the shooting and the […]
Krugman Claims Colorado Dark Knight Shooting Due to Incendiary Rhetoric, Tea Party
July 20th, 2012 @ 11:41 am

[…] in Aurora, CO, on people's expressions of political free speech began immediately, with George Stephanopoulos suggesting that the shooter may have been a member of a local TEA Party, who had attended a seminar on […]
Zilla of the Resistance
July 20th, 2012 @ 11:52 am

I grew up with a guy who has the same name as the shooter, and he moved to Colorado many years ago. But the guy I know is in his forties, making him old enough to be the shooter’s dad or uncle… oh and I stopped being friends with the guy because he trolled me all over my facebook due to his having grown into a hostile far left Obama fan. I don’t know if any of that is relevant, but I’m just sayin’…
Red
July 20th, 2012 @ 12:19 pm

Right? What’s the Tea Party got to do with this? Bunch of instigating media and lockstepping celebrity progbots!
Red
July 20th, 2012 @ 12:19 pm

Nope.
McGehee
July 20th, 2012 @ 12:22 pm

That proves he wasn’t suicidal (as would the body armor and gas mask) but not that he’s not crazy.
Hold Your Fire! | hogewash
July 20th, 2012 @ 12:33 pm

[…] 2–For a demonstration of how a breaking story evolves, check out Stacy McCain’s coverage which has 16 updates as of 12:30 pm ET. Share this:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEmailPrintLike […]
Saddened_Citizen
July 20th, 2012 @ 1:02 pm

That in fact, is not relevant at all. Just because some one shares the same name does NOT mean that they share the same beliefs.

Here’s an interesting thought: Maybe this attack actually WASN’T part of a political agenda. Maybe being a fan of Obama or Romney/ insert who ever it is you don’t agree with, doesn’t make you a crazed killer.

Please stop using this horrific tragedy to fuel hatred for a political party. It doesn’t matter what this killer believed or who he supported. Both conservative and liberal politicians have had crazy supporters. And politics really have nothing to do with it.
Sometimes people are just violent. And they use a belief as an excuse for their behavior.

Everyone is devastated by what happened. Liberal or Conservative.

So please, use your energy to send good vibes/ prayers/ or what have you to the victims of this tragedy instead of using it as an excuse to bash the political party you oppose.
Good Grief: Nanny Bloomberg Calls For Gun Control In Wake Of Aurora Shooting » Pirate's Cove
July 20th, 2012 @ 1:44 pm

[…] The Other McCain pulls out a great quote from Chris Rock “What, you can’t be crazy no more? Did we eliminate ‘crazy’ from the dictionary? . . . When l was a kid, they used to separate the crazy kids from everybody. When l was a kid, the crazy kids went to school in a little-a– bus. They had a class at the end of the school . . . Just in case they went crazy, they would only hurt other crazy kids. And we was all safe.” […]
Saddened_Citizen
July 20th, 2012 @ 1:54 pm

Also just to clarify,, this post wasn’t meant to attack you at all Zilla or say that you are the only person with political suspicions. More so me just venting my frustration that people in general seem to focus on the political bashing as opposed to the tragic loss of lives.
Ford Prefect
July 20th, 2012 @ 2:55 pm

The only valid political discussion that makes any sense at this point is to criticize people like Piers Morgan and Stephanopoulos for laying blame at the feet of the Tea Party when the history of these kind of atrocities is always the opposite.
richard mcenroe
July 20th, 2012 @ 3:12 pm

By the way, “eschews” is the exact opposite of what you meant to say. *sigh* The press is to the English language what sand is to car transmissions….
DaveO
July 20th, 2012 @ 4:19 pm

Every night is Kristallnacht in George Stephanopolous’s and Brian Ross’s world.

Wonder how much they pocketed in bonus money for making the TEA Party connection?
Gunman Kills 12, Shoots 71 During Dark Knight Rising Premiere in Colorado | Caffeinated Thoughts
July 20th, 2012 @ 4:21 pm

[…] Stacy McCain has been doing a great job updating with new information out on the shooting and the victims. Hot Air has a lot of information as well. Buzzfeed has social media accounts (content warning). Below is a video from a local CBS affiliate: […]
Zilla of the Resistance
July 20th, 2012 @ 4:28 pm

Thank you for the clarification, I do understand your frustration. It is a horrible tragedy.
Zilla of the Resistance
July 20th, 2012 @ 4:29 pm

Damned right.
Soviet of Washington
July 20th, 2012 @ 6:37 pm

Jeff S. – He’s probably paranoid schizophrenic. He’s the right gender (male 2x female), right age (peak onset 20-28 for males). Probably been going downhill for a while, family knew something was off, but not enough to get any action taken against his will in our litigious society. Might have had something to do with his dropping out of school (PhD, not MD) as well.
CALLING ALL ANGELS » American Glob
July 20th, 2012 @ 8:06 pm

[…] Stacy McCain also has an extensive report. […]
DaveO
July 20th, 2012 @ 8:09 pm

Interesting schism among the Progs. On the one hand, you’ve got the sniveling, groveling syncophants proving their loyalty to sustaining Prog power. Examples are numerous, but Brian Ross and ABC are today’s iceberg tip.

Then you’ve got Kevin Drum of Mother Jones and Gawker calling the association of the alleged killer to the TEA Partier beyond the pale. (Source: Instapundit: http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/)

Did the genuine Progressives learn a lesson from the Loughner media-fiasco? That associating with pathological, winner-take-all liars undermines everything a genuine Progressive considers holy?
alanhenderson
July 21st, 2012 @ 1:22 am

If some nobody shot up a Costco, and Ann Coulter’s first thought was to look up Obama donor lists, rational people might suspect that she’s evil.

Brian Ross is evil.
ThePaganTemple
July 21st, 2012 @ 8:49 am

This guy isn’t originally from Colorado, he’s from San Diego.
ThePaganTemple
July 21st, 2012 @ 8:51 am

There’s a slight difference between insanity and evil.

Insanity-People who shoot up a crowded theater.

Evil-People who try to use such a tragedy to gain a political advantage.
Ben Franklin
July 22nd, 2012 @ 3:28 am

I think I read where there have been over 7000 arrests of OWS members for everything up to and including plots to kill cops and commit terrorism. Whether this guy is linked to them or not they certainly seem to engage in the same activities.

Which of course all leads the media to assume he was a Tea Partier.