At the Century 16 movie complex in Aurora, Colorado, it was supposed to be a fun evening with the midnight movie premier of the new Batman film, ′Dark Knight Rises.′ Instead, a massacre resulted when a lone gunman opened fire upon the audience in the theater, shooting at them just as the coming attractions were over at about 12:30am. The alleged assailant, said to be a 24-year old man wearing black tactical clothing, including a bulletproof vest, began his carnage deploying either a smoke or teargas canister. As people stood up to flee, the man, armed with one long-gun and two pistols, opened fired. Police say that 10 people died in the theater, two others at one of four hospitals and another 50 people with various injuries. The shooting took place at Theater Number Nine, one of three being used for the Batman movie premier. The gunman was taken into custody, as Aurora police were already on scene for crowd control. The alleged gunman told police he had another explosive device in his car and another at his apartment in North Aurora.

Colorado Theater Shooting

Aurora, CO is a suburb of Denver and Colorado′s second largest community with some 325,000 residents. The Century 16 Theater Complex is located at the Aurora Mall. Of the three theaters showing the Dark Knight Rises, two were packed with sold-out crowds. The much anticipated movie was heavily advertised and the theaters were offering specials, like free souvenirs and treats. Most of those attending the midnight premier were between the ages of 15 to 25. Several victims are even younger, including one report of an infant who was shot at nearly point-blank range.

As this is an ongoing tragedy, many details remain unknown. For example, there is no word on the shooter as to whether he was a radical Muslim, an Occupy Wall Street anarchist or a supporter of Barack Hussein Obama? One report is that a police gang squad arrived on scene as there have been issues before between rival gangs from Aurora and Denver. A new report from the Denver Post while I am writing this claims that police are now saying that only 12 deaths are confirmed. Another earlier report puts the death toll at 14, then 15. Needless to say, this story will dominate the news for the next few days and we can expect other details to change.