Veronica Moser was a beautiful, young six-year-old who was attending "The Dark Knight Rises" screening early Friday morning with her mother, Ashley Moser, when the unthinkable happened. James Holmes ambushed theater goers and opened fire the crowded theater in Aurora, Colorado killing twelve people and injuring dozens of others. Veronica's mother, had a bullet lodged in her throat and a wound to her abdomen; she is currently in Ithe ICU drifting in and out of consciousness. When she does awake, she asks for her daughter, but nobody has can bring themselves to tell her the horrible truth. Veronica's great-aunt, Annie Dalton, says of her niece:
She loved to dress up and read and was doing well at school. She was beautiful and innocent," who attended Holly Ridge Elementary School in Denver. "It's a nightmare right now." She added, "They expect her (Ashley Moser) to have some paralysis but don't know how extensive it will be." Veronica was a comfort to her grandfather, who died two months ago after suffering from a terminal illness over the previous year. "We were just rebuilding our family."
James Eagan Holder, the man who opened fire at "The Dark Knight Rises" screening in an Aurora, Colorado movie theater may have tried to recreate a scene from the 2008 "The Dark Knight". He is reported to have painted his hair red and told the police he was "The Joker."NYC Commissioner,Ray Kelly, who is good friends with Aurora Police Commissioner, Dan Oaters, said at a press conference:
"We have some information, most of it is public. It clearly looks like a deranged individual. He had his hair painted red, he said he was ‘The Joker,’ obviously the enemy of Batman."
Commissioner Oates says they are confident that he acted alone. A thorough investigation is being carried out. Now as many as 71, people are said to have been injured, 12 of those killed. 2 people died at local hospitals and 10 bodies are still inside the theaters. Police are having to investigate each deceased person inside the theater as an individual crime scence and have said they could be there for a long period of time. Fears are the number of fatalities will rise as many of the wounded are in critical condition at local area hospitals. Oates said the killer's car was parked in the back of the theater. His apartment was also booby-trapped. He used an assault rifle, a Glock handgun, and a shotgun. The scene was chaotic, with many people running out of the theater for their lives. Holmes is currently in police custody right now.
James Holmes has been identified as The Dark Knight Massacre Killer. The 24-year-old walked into an Aurora, Colorado movie theater, set off some sort of unknown gas, and fired into the crowd killing 12 people and injuring dozens more. Witnesses said he was shooting people who tried to exit, at one point, and basically was shooting anyone in his way. Victims of the shooting range in various ages, as young at 3 months. The shooting has caused an outpouring of grief nationally and internationally. The premiere of The Dark Knight was canceled in Paris, France, and L.A. and New York plan on beefing up security at the showings for fear of copy cat crimes.
Holmes was a student at the University of Colorado's School of Medicine, but withdrew last month. TMZ reports:
A heavily armed gunman opened fire in the middle of a packed midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" … killing at least a dozen moviegoers and reportedly wounding at least 50 others (including a 3-month-old baby) in Aurora, Colorado.
The suspect has been identified as 24-year-old James Holmes from Aurora, CO.
Cops say Holmes was wearing a bulletproof vest, riot helmet and a gas mask when he entered the Century 16 Movie Theater through an emergency exit and began randomly firing at movie patrons. Witnesses say he tossed tear gas into the crowd before he started shooting.
Police arrested Holmes in the movie theater parking lot — and federal agents evacuated his apartment building –after he "made a statement about explosives" in the building (see below).
After a thorough sweep of the complex, officials determined the building was safe.
Holmes reportedly used 4 guns during the shooting — a rifle, a shotgun, a handgun and another firearm that's being compared to an AK-47.
Jessica Redfield has been identified as one of the victims of today's Colorado Mass Shooting. She went along with a friend as hundreds of other excited fans to see a midnight screening on Friday morning of The Dark Knight Rises. A gunman opened fire in a Colorado theater in Aurora, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens of others. Jessica, was an aspiring sportscaster, who ironically, survived a mass shooting in a mall in Toronto, CA on June 2, just last month. In that shooting, one man was killed and 7 injured. She wrote an emotional blog post describing that incident and how she felt a few weeks ago:
Late Night Thoughts on the Eaton Center Shooting
I can’t get this odd feeling out of my chest. This empty, almost sickening feeling won’t go away. I noticed this feeling when I was in the Eaton Center in Toronto just seconds before someone opened fire in the food court. An odd feeling which led me to go outside and unknowingly out of harm‘s way. It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around how a weird feeling saved me from being in the middle of a deadly shooting.
What started off as a trip to the mall to get sushi and shop, ended up as a day that has forever changed my life. I was on a mission to eat sushi that day, and when I’m on a mission, nothing will deter me. When I arrived at the Eaton Center mall, I walked down to the food court and spotted a sushi restaurant. Instead of walking in, sitting down and enjoying sushi, I changed my mind, which is very unlike me, and decided that a greasy burger and poutine would do the trick. I rushed through my dinner. I found out after seeing a map of the scene, that minutes later a man was standing in the same spot I just ate at and opened fire in the food court full of people. Had I had sushi, I would’ve been in the same place where one of the victims was found.
My receipt shows my purchase was made at 6:20 pm. After that purchase I said I felt funny. It wasn’t the kind of funny you feel after spending money you know you shouldn’t have spent. It was almost a panicky feeling that left my chest feeling like something was missing. A feeling that was overwhelming enough to lead me to head outside in the rain to get fresh air instead of continuing back into the food court to go shopping at SportChek. The gunshots rung out at 6:23. Had I not gone outside, I would’ve been in the midst of gunfire.
I walked around the outside of the mall. People started funneling out of every exit. When I got back to the front, I saw a police car, an ambulance, and a fire truck. I initially thought that maybe the street performer that was drumming there earlier had a heart attack or something. But more and more police officers, ambulances, and fire trucks started showing up. Something terrible has happened. I overheard a panicked guy say, “There was a shooting in the food court.” I thought that there was no way, I was just down there. I asked him what happened. He said “Some guy just opened fire. Shot about 8 shots. It sounded like balloons popping. The guy is still on the loose.” I’m not sure what made me stick around at this point instead of running as far away from the mall as possible. Shock? Curiosity? Human nature? Who knows.
Standing there in the midst of the chaos all around us, police started yelling to get back and make room. I saw a young shirtless boy, writhing on a stretcher, with his face and head covered by the EMS as they rushed him by us to get him into an ambulance. The moment was surprisingly calm. The EMTs helping the boy weren’t yelling orders and no one was screaming like a night time medical drama. It was as if it was one swift movement to get the boy out of the mall and into the ambulance. That’s when it really hit me. I felt nauseas. Who would go into a mall full of thousands of innocent people and open fire? Is this really the world we live in?
Police start yelling again “GET BACK NOW!” Another stretcher came rushing out of the mall. I saw a man on a stretcher, the blanket underneath him spotted with blood. Multiple gunshot holes in his chest, side, and neck were visible. It’s not like in the movies when you see someone shot and they’re bleeding continuously from the wound. There was no blood flowing from the wounds, I could only see the holes. Numerous gaping holes, as if his skin was putty and someone stuck their finger in it. Except these wounds were caused by bullets. Bullets shot out of hatred. His dark skin on his torso was tinted red with what I assume was his own blood. He was rushed into the ambulance and taken away.
More people joined the crowd at the scene and asked what happened. “There was a shooting in the food court,” kept being whispered through the crowd like a game of telephone. I was standing near a security guard when I heard him say over his walkie talkie, “One fatality.” At this point I was convinced I was going to throw up. I’m not an EMT or a police officer. I’m not trained to handle crime and murder. Gun crimes are fairly common where I grew up in Texas, but I never imagined I’d experience a violent crime first hand. I’m on vacation and wanted to eat and go shopping. Everyone else at the mall probably wanted the same thing. I doubt anyone left for the mall imagined they witness a shooting.
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. I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath. For one man, it was in the middle of a busy food court on a Saturday evening.
I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing. So often I have found myself taking it for granted. Every hug from a family member. Every laugh we share with friends. Even the times of solitude are all blessings. Every second of every day is a gift. After Saturday evening, I know I truly understand how blessed I am for each second I am given.
I feel like I am overreacting about what I experienced. But I can’t help but be thankful for whatever caused me to make the choices that I made that day. My mind keeps replaying what I saw over in my head. I hope the victims make a full recovery. I wish I could shake this odd feeling from my chest. The feeling that’s reminding me how blessed I am. The same feeling that made me leave the Eaton Center. The feeling that may have potentially saved my life.
Jessica had recently moved from San Antonio to Denver. At the movie, she had tweeted her excitement of wanting to see the movie moments before the gunman opened fire. Because of 24-year-old man opened fire, that was Jessica's last tweet.
Her brother, Jordan, confirmed her death via Twitter on his way to catch a flight to Colorado writing:
"This could easily be the worst night of my life. It appears that my sister has been fatally wounded in a mass shooting at a movie premiere in Denver, CO."
My Fabulous Style sends thoughts and prayers to Jessica's family and all the families of the victims during this difficult time.
A very horrific shooting has happened at an Aurora, Colorado movie theater. The Dark Knight Rising had attracted many movie go-ers and excitement was high for the movie. Huffingtonpost reports:
A heavily armed man entered a movie theater in suburban Denver early Friday and opened fire, killing at least 12 people and injuring 50 others.
The incident, which took place about 12:30 a.m. at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colo., occurred during midnight screenings of the new Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises."
When the movie patrons realized the attack was real and not part of the movie, pandemonium erupted and they began to flee. The film continued to play on the screen as bloodied customers took refuge outside. According to witnesses on the scene, some of the bullets also went through the walls of an adjacent theater, injuring patrons.
“There was this one guy on all fours crawling. There was this girl spitting up blood. There were bullet holes in some people’s backs, in some people’s arms. There was one guy who was just stripped down to his boxers. It looked like he had been shot in the back or something,” Donovan Tate, who escaped from the packed theater with his girlfriend, told CBS4.
Soon after receiving a flood of 911 calls, hundreds of police officers, ambulance and emergency crews arrived on the scene.
The suspect was found near a car behind the theater and arrested. He was dressed in black, carrying a knife, rifle and a handgun, and wearing a bulletproof vest.
"He did not resist," police spokesman Frank Fania. "He did not put up a fight."
The shooter's identity has not been released but he is thought to be in his early 20s. A motive for the attack is unknown.
Police also searched the suspect's North Aurora home after he spoke of "possible explosives in his residence," Oates said. Authorities evacuated the building as a precautionary measure.
The police originally announced that 14 people had been killed in the attack, butrevised the death toll around 7:45 a.m. ET, NBC News reported.
At this time, there is no evidence of additional shooters.
President Barack Obama, who is in Palm Beach, Fla., was notified of the shooting by Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan at 5:26 a.m. ET. He released the following statement:
"Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado. Federal and local law enforcement are still responding, and my Administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time. We are committed to bringing whoever was responsible to justice, ensuring the safety of our people, and caring for those who have been wounded. As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family. All of us must have the people of Aurora in our thoughts and prayers as they confront the loss of family, friends, and neighbors, and we must stand together with them in the challenging hours and days to come."
"We are praying for the families and loved ones of the victims during this time of deep shock and immense grief. We expect that the person responsible for this terrible crime will be quickly brought to justice."
The theater where the attack took place is just about 25 miles from Columbine High School, where two students shot and killed 13 people in 1999.
