Last week, a young man's fancy turns to guns and death.
There is no excuse for the rain of bullets and terror unleashed in Aurora,
Colorado, early Friday morning by a man the media has already named "The
Batman Psycho" — aka James Holmes. The families of those who
died and the survivors of the attack will take years to recover. Gun control
advocates and gun rights stalwarts have another brutal Colorado attack to argue
over for years to come.
However, there are several conversations that will likely
not occur. It is unlikely that the aftermath of the Colorado shooting rampage
will be a moment when we as a country reflect upon the relationship between
masculinity and violence. There most certainly will not be a "beer summit"
about how accused shooter James
Holmes is one more entry in a long list of mass killers who are white,
male, and young.
When viewed through the
white racial frame, there is nothing in his deeds on last Friday night that
reflects upon the behavior of white people, generally, or white men in
particular. From this perspective, his dressing up as The Joker, and killing
more than a dozen people, and wounding many more, are the actions of one sick
person.
As folks have worked through many times before in the common
"what if?" game of race in America, if
James Holmes were black or brown this would be one more signal to the
existence of a "pathological culture" among said group. If
James Holmes were Muslim American the Colorado shooting
would be a clear act of "terrorism," and an example of the
Islamic bogeyman next door who has occupied the dreams and nightmares of the
"heartland" since September 11th. In one devastating burst of
fire, he has ruined movie going for an entire generation. He has
associated one of the most popular superheroes with the darkest side of human
nature.
In America, folks often ask, "what the hell is wrong
with black people?" In the aftermath of the Colorado Movie Massacre,
Columbine, and many other incidents, we need to ask, "what the hell is
wrong with young white men?
Sadly, that question will not be asked on a national stage.
White privilege is blinding. In the case of James Holmes, it also mutes a much
needed national conversation about the ties between (white) masculinity and
violence.
First of all, I'll like to say my heart goes out to all the people affected in the town of Aurora, Colorado, may God be with that town and their families. Across the country last night, after months of anticipation, sold out crowds filled movie theaters to take in the midnight premiere of the latest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises." But the thrill of the movie's release has been utterly dashed in the wake of the horrific shootings during a screening in Aurora, Colo., in which a lone gunman opened fire on the audience, shooting some 50 people, 12 fatally, authorities say. At this point we know very little about the suspect in the shooting, James Holmes, 24, an Aurora resident.
The Aurora Police Department released one statement earlier today, but it did not contain any information about a possible motive for the shooting or any indication of what Holmes has told police so far, if anything. Reports say Holmes's only previous run-in with the law was a traffic ticket in 2011.
Inevitably, speculation has run rampant about the suspected shooter's mental health. But one expert warns of making pronouncements until we know more. "It's really preliminary, and at this point it's hard to know what's behind [the shooting]," says Alan Manevitz, M.D., a psychiatrist in private practice in New York City and an attending physician at Lenox Hill Hospital.
Manevitz says while attempts have been made in the past to create a profile that would help us identify potential rampaging gunmen, there simply isn't one. "In the past we've seen people come from well-adjusted and well-to-do families, as well as from broken homes," he says. "Some are loners and some have had friends. No one shooter fits a definitive psychological profile." In Holmes's case, Manevitz wonders if the young man has a previous psychological history or a history of threats, violence or psychotic thinking. "We don't know any of that at this point."
The mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater has prompted the cancellation of the Paris premiere of the Dark Knight Rises, and has raised questions about how moviegoers will react in the wake of the violence. I'm an avid movie-goer, and really affects me. I still find it hard to understand the motivation behind such an attack. I always felt comfortable and safe in the theater while watching a movie, but now I know my thoughts will stray every so often to the incident in Colorado and think about how scared those people were. A suburban movie theater is a place people are supposed to be able to feel safe and it seems like the typical reaction to a mass shooting in a public place is to tighten security where these kinds of things happen. And now it seems like you can't go anywhere in the states without a security check, does that have any effect on how we interact with each other? I believe it does, especially in terms of meeting new people and socializing at parties/schools because you don't know who out there is a "psychopath"
There has been a lot of shooting incidents in our society these days and I personally believe gun control in any nation is the right way to go. No guns should be allowed for any reason in our society. We are not a 'free' society if we allow our neighbors to collect weapons and use them at will, we are a stupid society.
One of the victims of the Colorado movie theatre shooting narrowly missed witnessing another shooting — in the food court at Toronto's Eaton Centre last month.
News of the shooting at The Dark Knight Rises premiere first broke on Twitter early Friday morning from panicked moviegoers trying to make sense of what they'd just experienced.
And as the morning wore on and the police investigation continued, the name of one of the victims appeared on Twitter.
"My friend Jessica Ghawi was killed in the #Aurora Shooting — she was an aspiring sportscaster — she will be missed," Natalie Tejeda (@natalietejeda) tweeted Friday morning.
Ghawi's parents told KSAT-TV in San Antonio, Texas, that their daughter, who had recently moved to Denver, was killed in the shooting, the station reported.
Ghawi's brother Jordan wrote on his blog that their mutual friend, who was with Ghawi at the theatre, said Ghawi was shot twice, and the second bullet "appeared to strike her in the head."
Ghawi, who went by the Twitter handle @JessicaRedfield, last tweeted "MOVIE DOESN'T START FOR 20 MINUTES," just after 10:30 p.m. local time to another Twitter user whom she'd been teasing for not going to the premiere.
And in an eerie coincidence, Ghawi's last entry on her personal blog was about witnessing the aftermath of the shooting in the Eaton Centre on June 2.
Busted Coverage, a sports blog Ghawi wrote for, tweeted a link to her last blog post.
She had been at the Eaton Centre and grabbed a burger and poutine in the food court. She had initially been looking for sushi — which would have led her to the sit-down sushi restaurant and prolonged her time in the food court — but "an odd feeling" led her outside, she wrote.
"Gun crimes are fairly common where I grew up in Texas, but I never imagined I'd experience a violent crime first hand," she wrote on June 5.
The receipt for her burger was time-stamped 6:20 p.m. Gunshots rang out in the food court only minutes later.
Outside the mall, chaos descended on the streets as emergency vehicles arrived on scene.
"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," Ghawi wrote. "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 nauseous. Who would go into a mall full of thousands of innocent people and open fire? Is this really the world we live in?"
"I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday," she wrote a few days after the shooting. "I was reminded that we don't know when or where our time on Earth will end."
AURORA, COLO.—A gunman wearing a gas mask opened fire early Friday at a suburban Denver movie theatre on the opening night of the latest Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises,” killing 12 people and injuring at least 50 others, authorities said.
The gunman, who is in custody, stood at the front of the theatre and fired into the crowd about 12:30 a.m. MDT at a theatre at a multiplex theatre in a mall in Aurora.
“Witnesses tell us he released some sort of canister. They heard a hissing sound and some gas emerged and the gunman opened fire,” Aurora Police Chief Dan 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 theatre.
Police have identified the suspect as James Holmes, 24. There was no immediate word of any motive.
When the suspect was arrested, police recovered one rifle, one handgun and a gas mask. A third gun is still inside the theatre, police said in a statement.
The suspect spoke of “possible explosives in his residence,” Oates said. Police used a crane to hoist themselves up to an apartment window on the third floor at the top of the brick complex and break in.
He said police also checked for explosives in the parking lot and at the Century 16 theatre and secured those areas.
Police spokesman Frank Fania said the suspect was carrying a knife, a rifle and a handgun when arrested, and one other gun is still in the theatre. The gunman was also wearing a bulletproof vest.
“He did not resist, he did not put up a fight,” Fania said. The suspect's apartment building has been evacuated.
Salina Jordan, 19, was in Theater 8 and saw people hit in her theatre. She told the Denver Post one girl was struck in the cheek, others in the stomach, including a girl who looked to be around 9 years old.
Jordan said it sounded like firecrackers until someone ran into Theater 8 yelling “they're shooting out here!”
The police came running in, telling people to run out. Some police were carrying or dragging bodies, she said.
Witness Hayden Miller told KUSA-TV that he was inside Theater 16 and heard several shots.
“Like little explosions going on and shortly after that we heard people screaming,” he told the station.
Hayden said at first he thought it was part of a louder movie next door. But then he saw “people hunched over leaving theatre.”
Moviegoers didn't know what was happening and some thought the attack was part of the show. Then they saw a silhouette of a person in the smoke at the front of the theatre near the screen, pointing a gun at the crowd.
“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, shooting as he went, saying nothing.
Another 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.”
Another witness said the gunman opened fire during a shoot-out scene in the movie, leading to confusion. The theatre also filled with thick smoke, he said.
The police chief said 10 victims died at the theatre and two at area hospitals.
Two people in critical condition were rushed to nearby Swedish Medical Center, spokeswoman Nicole Williams said.
She said emergency crews told her staff to prepare for several more patients from the shooting scene.
Nine people were in critical condition at University Hospital, TV station KCNC reported. Many were in surgery.
Eleven people were being treated at the Medical Center of Aurora for gunshots and ranged from minor to critical condition. Two others walked in to be treated for tear gas contamination.
Denver Health had seven victims — one in critical and the rest in fair condition.
The youngest victim reported was a 6-year-old being treated at Children’s Hospital Colorado, where a total of six victims were taken. Their condition wasn’t known.
U.S. President Barack Obama said he was “shocked and saddened” by the massacre.
“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,” Obama said in a statement.
Aurora is located on the southeast outskirts of Denver, about 16 kilometres from downtown.
