Gunman opens fire on TDKR cinema audience killing 12

BBC News

One of those stories that makes you ashamed to be human, a terrible tragedy for those who got caught innocently trying to enjoy themselves.

Witnesses are claiming that the gunman was dressed in character from the films, though some are saying he was dressed as Bane and others as the Joker. Other reports suggest that the shooting was timed to coincide with a shoot-out in the film.

What we do no for sure is that he is a lunatic with guns.

Horrible, horrible news.

The death toll has been revised to 12, the man has been named, apparently 24 years of age, he wore a gas mask, used a tear gas canister initially, had on a bullet proof vest with guns and a knife and was found to keep explosives at his home.

Jeez. That's terrible.

lachesis wrote:

The death toll has been revised to 12, the man has been named, apparently 24 years of age, he wore a gas mask, used a tear gas canister initially, had on a bullet proof vest with guns and a knife and was found to keep explosives at his home.

Apparently he had dyed his hair red, and called himself 'The Joker'.

Leaving aside the 'Erm, the Joker's hair was dyed green' point, I await with trepidation the sensationalist tabloid 'Crazed killer apes Batman villain' bullshit, implying that/explicitly blaming the Joker's anarchist terrorist behaviour in The Dark Knight is/as responsible for the shooter's actions.

Nolan's thoughts on the shooting:

Quote :

"I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families."

As with the death of Heath Ledger, I think his reaction is quite eloquent and profound.

So horrible for these families and the community. The memories of Columbine are still fresh in Colorado, and now this...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/20/us-usa-shooting-denver-profile-idUSBRE86J19H20120720

Near the scene, another neighbor, Rachel Reed, 25, recalled seeing Holmes a number of times on the stoop, with his backpack. A couple of months ago she ran into him at the Zephyr, where she had put a Lil Wayne rap song on the jukebox.

Holmes disapproved, she said, preferring rock 'n' roll music. He came over and "made some racially charged comments about rap," she said.

What were the "racially charged comments"? Why does this article bring up a race angle and then not offer any specific evidence to back up the claims?

I'm guessing it's trying to show Holmes as having fairly extreme reactions to normally-moderate forms of popular culture.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/20/us-usa-shooting-denver-profile-idUSBRE86J19H20120720

Near the scene, another neighbor, Rachel Reed, 25, recalled seeing Holmes a number of times on the stoop, with his backpack. A couple of months ago she ran into him at the Zephyr, where she had put a Lil Wayne rap song on the jukebox.

Holmes disapproved, she said, preferring rock 'n' roll music. He came over and "made some racially charged comments about rap," she said.

What were the "racially charged comments"? Why does this article bring up a race angle and then not offer any specific evidence to back up the claims?

Who cares.

I guess people have heard of this, but I thought I'd post it. One of the victims escaped a similar shooting last month and wrote a blog post about it:
http://jessicaredfield.wordpress.com/

Absolute maniac. He should be placed at the nasty end of a firing squad.

Jack Wade wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/20/us-usa-shooting-denver-profile-idUSBRE86J19H20120720

Near the scene, another neighbor, Rachel Reed, 25, recalled seeing Holmes a number of times on the stoop, with his backpack. A couple of months ago she ran into him at the Zephyr, where she had put a Lil Wayne rap song on the jukebox.

Holmes disapproved, she said, preferring rock 'n' roll music. He came over and "made some racially charged comments about rap," she said.

What were the "racially charged comments"? Why does this article bring up a race angle and then not offer any specific evidence to back up the claims?

Who cares.

Exactly ... does it really matter? There's a bigger picture here.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

lachesis wrote:

The death toll has been revised to 12, the man has been named, apparently 24 years of age, he wore a gas mask, used a tear gas canister initially, had on a bullet proof vest with guns and a knife and was found to keep explosives at his home.

Apparently he had dyed his hair red, and called himself 'The Joker'.

Leaving aside the 'Erm, the Joker's hair was dyed green' point, I await with trepidation the sensationalist tabloid 'Crazed killer apes Batman villain' bullshit, implying that/explicitly blaming the Joker's anarchist terrorist behaviour in The Dark Knight is/as responsible for the shooter's actions.

With this get-up, even without the red hair, he was able to pass as a guy in costume, of which there were many in the theatre.

Like most crazed killers, he probably had a seriously f**d-up childhood and/or adolescence. There's your root cause. The rest of us watch plenty of violent films and we don't shoot-up theatres.

tiffanywint wrote:

Like most crazed killers, he probably had a seriously f**d-up childhood and/or adolescence. There's your root cause. The rest of us watch plenty of violent films and we don't shoot-up theatres.

That's an interesting point, and I think the parents play a crucial role here.

From age 5 and up, my parents let me watch virtually any film I wanted, so long as it wasn't hardcore porn or anything like that (ROBOCOP, for example, was a favorite of mine as a child). They always watched the films with me, though, and made sure I understood that it was a piece of fiction--nothing more than a camera recording people on a set. Because of that, I fell in love with stories, characters, and the craft. It seems today that many people are falling in love with pure violence depicted in films and I don't think parents are playing their parts anymore. The video games produced today add to the problem. I think kids find it cool and trendy and even funny when they see violent acts in films, television, and video games. Look at all the schmo "independent filmmakers" on YouTube who put together ultra-violent trash, which often have no relation to the art of cinema and hold no technical merits.

It's not the art form leading to the violence. It's society and, especially, the parents of these type of children that lead to these barbaric acts. After all, the MPAA would rather have your kid watch people being thrown off buildings or being shot in the head, instead of seeing some tits here and there.

Getting a hard-on from watching someone get their head beaten with a baseball bat isn't natural. Getting a hard-on from Natasha Kinski with no shirt on is.

I firmly believe that greater exposure to tits will lead to increased social harmony.

Control wrote:

Getting a hard-on from Natasha Kinski with no shirt on is.

You're talking Cat People? One of my favourite 80's films. She was naked practically the whole film.

80's films are the absolute best for gratutious FF nudity!

Control wrote:

I never argue with a pie chart. 8)

tiffanywint wrote:

Control wrote:

Getting a hard-on from Natasha Kinski with no shirt on is.

You're talking Cat People? One of my favourite 80's films. She was naked practically the whole film.

80's films are the absolute best for gratutious FF nudity!

Absolutely. One of Schrader's finest. :)

Klaus Kinski didn't do too bad of a job, either...

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/07/24/stewart-so-what-does-a-guy-have-to-do-to-get-fired-at-abc/

I don't usually watch Jon Stewart, but he essentially nails it with his story last night, openly asking what a guy has to do to get fired at ABC. Stewart asks: 'He's not even grounded?'

If a person can't see what Brian Ross did with that "reporting" of his then they are choosing to be willfully ignorant. Ross should be fired and never allowed to work as a reporter for any major network ever again. He has ZERO credibility. I mean, when even Jon Stewart is openly calling for you to be fired for essentially trying to create a 'pre-existing narrative' linking a massacre to Tea Party members, it's time to go. I wonder how long ABC is going to try and hold out.

Incidentally, Stewart doesn't spare George Stephanopolous either, who I think should be suspended, without pay, for a month.

Stewart's been showing that he's not just following an agenda. It seems that lately he's been poking fun at and calling out things from both the right and the left wings. I've got a bit more respect for him as a "journalist/reporter" because of that.

Control wrote:

Stewart's been showing that he's not just following an agenda. It seems that lately he's been poking fun at and calling out things from both the right and the left wings. I've got a bit more respect for him as a "journalist/reporter" because of that.

Eh.......he's nowhere near the center, nor will he ever be. Occasionally he'll look beyond ideology, such as this time, and call "Shenanigans!" on some of his friends, but I wouldn't make the mistake of believing this is a trend.

Stewart is talented, but I prefer Colbert because I feel Stephen is the better actor when it comes to being a "fake" journalist, and somehow, someway, Stephen seduces me into his shtick as he's gently wrapping his arms around me and plunging the knife into my back.

I wish "The Right" had an equivalent show, though I guess Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld probably qualifies on that score. I used to love NIGHTSTAND w/Dick Dietrich back in the 90's, but you all probably don't remember him (he was more a spoof of talk shows than a political fake news show).