**UPDATED**
“Soothing words are nice,” Bloomberg said during an interview on WOR News Talk Radio 710 in New York City. “But maybe it’s time the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they’re going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country. And everybody always says, ‘Isn’t it tragic?’” – NYC mayor: Soothing words not enough
Witnesses told KUSA that the gunman kicked in an emergency exit door and threw a smoke bomb into the darkened theater before opening fire.
One movie-goer, who was not identified, told KUSA the gunman was wearing a gas mask. Some people in the audience thought the thick smoke and gunfire was a special effect accompanying the movie, police and witnesses said. “We just heard a pop, pop, pop, pop,” said Quentin Caldwell, who was attending the Batman showing in an adjacent theater. [CNN]
KILLING 12 PEOPLE and injuring at least 50, the heavily armed gunman is in custody. According to a report, he did not resist arrest or “put up a fight.” According to John Miller, a former assistant director at the FBI with CBS “This Morning”, who provided the best coverage I’ve seen yet today, the gunman had an AK-47, a shotgun and a dispersal device, proving this event was methodically plotted and planned.
“The information speaks,” Miller said. “He walks into the theater at 12:30. He has an AK-47. He has a shotgun. He has a handgun. He is dressed completely in black in tactical gear. He’s got a dispersal device. …What you see here is, you see indications of an awful lot of…preparation and research that went into this.” Miller, a former assistant director at the FBI, noted the use of the dispersal device, used to spread gas or smoke, is particularly telling. – “Dark Knight Rises” Aurora shooting: Suspect’s home and belongings key to investigation
Additionally, the scene when politic executed the search warrant on the gunman’s home was not a typical take down, with SWAT taking serious precautions before entering the apartment, signifying the possibility that booby traps were suspected.
Statement by President Barack Obama on the Shooting in Colorado
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.
The shooting occurred in the Aurora, Colorado theater, 13 miles away from where the Columbine shooting occurred.
video via HuffPost
Phil Gramm: ” I have more guns than I need, but not as many guns as I want. “
I’m a registered multiple gun owner. And every time I see incidents like this, it just depresses me. I would NEVER grab my guns and head to the local theater and commit and atrocity like this. NEVER NEVER NEVER! Yet here we are. A young man who meta-morphs into a monster wielding multiple guns. I’m just at a loss for words on the mindset of killers like this.
But I disagree vehemently on two issues that will come out of this: lack of gun control and/or violent movies caused this. What’s the difference between me (having multiple guns) and James Holmes (the killer) having multiple guns? That’s the real issue: the psyche. I don’t know how to answer the psyche question. But I suspect that James Holmes would have found a way even with stricter gun control laws and less violent movies.
T-Steel…quite often I agree with your postings…but on this one…BULLSHIT. “But I suspect that James Holmes would have found a way even with stricter gun control laws”. Bullshit. Utter and complete bullshit. He needed access to guns and ammo to do this.
NO other country, even Iraq and Afghanistan have a gun murder rate close to the U.S.A. I have owned guns and will probably own at least one again. But to say the ridiculously easy access to military capacity firearms is not responsible for this is bullshit.
As many of you know, my husband is a gun expert, and we are a gun-owning household.
My husband also carries the shrapnel from two young thugs who shot and almost killed him.
I’m afraid T-Steel is correct. People like James Holmes always find a way to get weaponry and he bought them legally, according to multiples news sources, though more information may reveal other facts, especially when the explosives and trip wires are investigated in his booby-trapped apartment.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a national database and bullet i.d. technology (can’t think of the proper terminology right now, it’s late), as well as other things, and a concerted effort for politicians and media types to stand up to the NRA, a scourge in this country. Michael Bloomberg and other U.S. mayors are pushing back on the NRA and gun lobby, while our political parties do nothing but take their money. It’s never good when any lobby gets so powerful, so if nothing else calling them out on their extremism would be a place to start.
The Second Amendment is safe, as are the guns people want to have in their homes. Anyone saying otherwise is a liar or a charlatan, which describes Wayne LaPierre perfectly.
HuffPost reports Holmes bought 6,000 rounds on the web, but also had a 100-round mag, which is deadly insane.
T-Steel…at this very moment, I respectfully and vehemently disagree with you. I lay the responsibility for what just happened at the feet of those who were bought off by the NRA to let the ban on assault weapons expire and the austerity cheerleaders for closing down the state facilities that used to be a place to land for people with mental issues.
To put it bluntly, I believe the NRA and GUNS SUCK!!!
It’s fine ladywalker. I own guns but I’m don’t belong to the NRA. For some reason, they bother me. LOL. So I understand why you feel the way you do. But I can meet you halfway on this: certain types of guns DO allow the lunatics, the disturb, the crazy, the bloodthirsty, etc to do MORE damage to life. But the source is the person. Mass murderers have existed throughout time. And their dark motivation has allowed them to kill numbers of people in ways that just are plain horrible. The person is always the root cause.
We agree 5000% on that point. And I always shake my head at those who cheer-lead the closing of mental health facilities. My 9-year old son is a high-functioning autistic which means he is functional in a large amount of day-to-day situations but his reactions to changes can be extreme. He hasn’t needed pure mental health but occupational therapy (which helps mental health patients and other acclimate to society) he does get. And it has done wonders. So when these facilities are shut down, where do the cheerleaders think will happen. You just leaving damaged humans swinging in the breeze. And the breeze can carry them anywhere. And for those who think mental health issues don’t mean much, you have people who lost good jobs and have turned into functioning basket cases. They seem normal on the outside but are a tornado of bad firing synapses and neurons due to the massive disruption in an otherwise stable life. Some can’t piece it back together.
Hi T-Steel
I read with interest that your son has high functioning autism. My daughter was diagnosed with PDD/NOS at four and she has had a normal outcome thanks to speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy.One of the features of ‘Obamacare’ that I especially endorse is that treatment therapies for autism will be mandatory when the full implementation comes. Insurance companies habitually deny insurance coverage to evidence based therapies that have been found to be most effective in treating autism primarily because of the high cost. About half the states have passed laws mandating insurance companies provide coverage for autism treatments. All states will have mandatory coverage when the ACA is fully implemented.
I also do autism research and currently have two papers undergoing peer review related to the orgins of de novo gene mutations in autism. More than 20% of cases are caused by a de novo gene mutation where the disorder is caused by a mutation in egg or sperm. These papers discuss the role of environmental pathogens in generating sperm and egg mutations.
If I had your email address I’d send you a pdf of these articles.
Ladywalker: T-Steel puts better than I my thoughts on this. Like him, I am not a member of the NRA nor intend to ever join a group that supports so vehemently those who would have gun owners too poor to purchase ammo anyway. I remember when Dorothea Dix hospital in Raleigh was shut down it was all this big real estate deal…who was going to get rich on the valuable land it stood on. What happened to the patients at that mental health facility was not an issue for the media.
A friend of mine who spent 3 tours in Vietnam in the Green Berets gave me an opinion that carries great weight with me. He said that assault weapons are a joke for civilian use. He wouldn’t own one as their design is for killing a large number of people in a restricted (yet close) zone. In other words, going hunting with an AK-47 or M-16 is a joke. Also, I possess a 9mm pistol with a 16 round magazine. I never load that amount into it as it’s excessive in my opinion, but limiting magazines to 10 rounds is fine by me.
One further point, if I may. In my state, even with a concealed carry permit, the possession of a firearm in a movie theater (or ANY venue where one has to pay admittion) is prohibited.
So if there is an assault weapons ban, or a limit to the capacity of magazines, so be it. If someone wants to be armed to the hilt, join the Marines or the Army.
T-Steel and mrpister-I really appreciate your responses. Thanks.
It is hauntingly similar to a scene in a Batman movie. I believe it was ” Batman ” directed by Tim Burton ( the best ) with Michael Keaton and Kim Bassinger, in which the Joker ( Jack Nicholson ) and his henchmen invade a fund raising event populated by Gotham citys one percent. They pump tear gas through the vents and then invade the room with automatic weapons. ( Life imitating art. ) Many reviewers have commented on the movies indirect overtures to political instability, income disparity and post 9/11 security state paranoia. Knowingly or unknowingly, Mr. Nolan may have created the monster that ate the 2012 election.
I always worry that when tragic events like this happen we read to much into what makes a psycho do what they do. We tend to start pointing fingers in a lot of different directions, and tend to lose site as to what has really happened. We start to blame guns, movies, computer games, parents and so on and so forth, instead of focusing on the psycho who did what he did. Chances are that mass killers will find any reason under the sun to feed their need to kill. Whatever is broken inside this psycho’s brain is the reason this happened, blaming movies, games, guns, politics or liberal thinking is not the reason for this kind of crime
I strongly agree with you on this.
Taylor you know what the first thing that popped into my mind when I heard about this? Your post on how Rush Limbaugh was going off on how this movie was going to influence voters. I wonder if some nut job took his words to heart once again and here we have another tragedy from some moron who can’t quit lying. I hope that’s not the case in the end but once again, we have another horrific tragedy in this country.
Ga6thDem, Its never good to point fingers in a tragedy in times like this. Rush Limbaugh has been spewing crap for years, if someone was stupid enough to listen to something Rush Limbaugh says, then that person should carry the punishment for him and Limbaugh for being stupid enough to listen. Each side and point fingers but we need to think about the families and pray for them. We need gun laws that ban assault weapons. I understand people have a few shot guns for hunting or a handgun for self-defense or protecting their home, other than that, there is no need for A-K 47s among other weapons a civilian should not have. But the NRA has too much power in this country and it will be years if ever if we get gun-control laws passed. I can’t believe this guy was a medical student. This World is getting more dangerous and years come. Especially in this country, shootings and tragedys are becoming common in this country. Something has to be done.
I’m not pointing a finger at him. I’m just saying that’s the first thing that popped into my mind.
By now, I have little hope that anything will change, so that the next time something like this occurs — and there’s absolutely no reason to think it won’t keep happening — the same conversations will be repeated. The personal causes / contributing factors that influence persons to do such things are surely multiple and complex, as are the social causes / contributing factors. But in general, each time it happens, as a society we once again mourn, express shock (or not) / concern / fear / anger, ask “how can this happen?” … and then it all basically dies down, until the next shooting, and we do it all again.
I don’t pretend to have answers, but what we’re doing isn’t working.
“Soothing words are nice,”
Whom do we blame………….? The guns…the person that pulled the trigger…some radio speaker…gun groups that support free ownership…the “corporaticians” that legislate ownership….?
I’m not sure I know, but I am sure of one thing…………….
I don’t need to hear one “Mass Murderer” (Obama) explaining to me how “we” need to be commited to bringing another “Mass Murderer” to “JUSTICE”………..
I DEFINITELY KNOW THAT!!!
My “Dear” …..Ms…..Joyce, Good afternoon!
WELCOME…… to the United States of Confortable Amnesia !
Hey Antonio … a good afternoon to you in return.
And that’s a very accurate / sad summary: “the United States of Comfortable Amnesia.”
So we have a psychopath who murders innocent people for no other reason except to kill, and then we have bloggers telling us that he is no different then the president. How can you take anyone serious when you are expected to connect those dots? I don’t care who the president is, but anyone who compares a psychopathic mass murder with the president is not to be taken seriously.
Even the Bush Crime Syndicate?
You got me there, but I think you got the point I was trying to make.
Exactly angel81… Absolutely no comparison and it’s just plain bad to do so. Already ABC went to Dummyville saying that James Holmes has affiliations with the Colorado Tea Party (which turned out to be wrong, wrong, and wrong).
Both President Obama and Governor Romney handled themselves very well and gave thoughtful responses. The blame should be pointed to this evil, human being who shot people for no reason.
I agree T-Steel and I am sure ABC is catching hell for it and it took back what it reported.
I own no firearms finding aikido has kept me alive through both Vietnam and these United States.
I go along with the 2nd Amendment interpretation that it attaches to the citizens, but I could be had to go along with restrictions of auto triggers and magazine feeds as a non-violate compromise. But it does not motivate me to be either an opponent or proponent.
But the NRA boogeyman stuff is just more liberal wimping. There are at least 40M self-identified liberals to 4 or 5M NRA members. The fact that a force 1/10th your number outmaneuvers you pretty much means you lack the right stuff.
I own two katanas as well and I know how to use ‘em proficiently. The extent of the use has been on some ballistics gel dummies and cutting watermelons in the yard flamboyantly (much to the delight of my young son).
I could go with that as well.
This is just silly. The NRA is a very powerful lobbying group with a lot of money to spend. To equate a bunch of average citizens with no connections to one another with a organization like the NRA is silly
Not to mention NRA leadership(if you want to call it that)shit house rat crazy obsessions about conspiracies to take away their guns……though the fact that they ARE shit house rat crazy should preclude them from owning a gun.
On the internet there is a site called ” The Armory “. On this site you may purchase, no questions asked, any weapon you may desire. Might want to buy some Netflix stock.
I really get impatient with the…. it is the shooter not the gun,movie,internet game,alienating society,no mental health services ….meme. It is all of it and NO ONE is willing to be a part of the solution. Oh no, someone’s precious “freedom” is at stake and public good be damned. We live in such a narcisistic society no one is willing to give up one right or privilege or be in the slightest way be inconvienced for the good of all.
Then we are treated to both candidates piously making comments and closing down their negative ads for a day or a weekend. Next week they will be back at it with not another thought given to how to deal with the problem.
The daily beast gets it’s red meat.The media will soak it for all it is worth and the shooter achieves fame as he planned.
I am with Bloomberg on this one.
I have no intention of being a stupe and watching the drama play itself out again. No media over the weekend for me.
Actually Lake Lady, if guns and weapons were outlawed in the USA tomorrow, I would have no problem giving up my two guns and two katanas. I’m not THAT attached to them. But you try to take my watermelons in the backyard, I…will…kill…you. And I’m DEAD serious. Really I am. Seriously. I mean SERIOUSLY!
But let’s really talk about the solution. Ultimately a person wields a weapon of pain. Let’s take the weapon (a gun) out of their hand, human ingenuity finds another weapon. Maybe it’s not a gun. Maybe acid. Fire. A car. Whatever. Humans have found a way to kill other humans in single and en masse since we’ve been roaming the Blue Planet. And I went a bit far. How are we going to stop guns from entering the country? Border Patrol. TSA? Etc. No I’m not being defeatist. But I’m open to finding a way to curb violent crime in general. What is the root cause(s)?
This comment was deleted because it was off topic.
Well I suppose you’ll have to lump God into your argument, seeing all that old testament rape, pillage and murder stuff. I find it just silly to bring politics into this tragic event that was carried out by a sick deranged psychopath who killed innocent people for no other reason except to kill as many as he could.
You seem to be mixing apples and oranges and using a tragic event to score some political point about the government and president you don’t like. I find that shameful.