Though it happened several states over — in Colorado — the news of at least 12 people dead and dozens of people injured during a midnight showing of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," really hit home for some Milwaukee area residents.
"It's scary. I know people that went to the midnight show here and if I was able to I would have gone to one," Stephen Milek posted on the Greendale Patch Facebook page. "What should have been an exciting weekend for movie fans is now overshadowed by this senseless tragedy. "
Lisa Miller wrote on the Greenfield Patch Facebook page that she would actually be hesitant to hit the theaters after hearing the news.
"Tragedy can strike anywhere, any time, and no one is immune," Miller wrote. "We can't allow that fact to prevent us from living life.That being said ... in honesty I would be hesitant to see the movie itself in theaters, out of fear of copycat syndrome."
Police have identified the armed gunman who raided the midnight showing as 24-year-old James Holmes of Aurora, the city in which the shooting took place, according to an article on Mercurynews.com.
Fox6news.com reports 59 people were injured, one of those being a 3-month-old infant.
News of the tragedy quickly spread across the nation on Friday.
"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," President Barack Obama said in a press release. " As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family."
Obama also issued a statement calling for flags to be flown at half-mass through July 25 to honor the victims.
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney also issued a statement after the tragedy.
"Our hearts break for the victims and their families. We pray that the wounded will recover and that those that re grieving will feel the nearness of God," he said. "This morning Colorado lost youthful voices which would have brightened their homes, enriched their schools and brought joy to the families."
'Shocking,' 'Crazy,' 'Disgusting'
But even with the reach of this tragic event, not everyone had heard of the shooting by Friday afternoon.
At the in Waukesha, one young woman was shocked to learn about the tragedy while one man just shook his head and called the gunman "crazy."
Three Milwaukee residents knew about the shooting but it didn’t stop them from attending The Dark Knight Rises.
"These type of things happen," Rick Lopez said.
Joining Lopez at the theater were Lorenzo and Marcelino Guerrero. Lorenzo Guerrero described the incident as "disgusting," while Marcelino Guerrero said he was "shocked, surprised" but that he wasn’t too concerned about being at the theater.
"Still, I had thoughts about it," Marcelino Guerrero said.
A Friday night Paris premiere of the movie has been canceled, according to the Associated Press.
But here, the show goes on
Despite the cancellation in Paris, Marcus Theatres said its shows will go on. Here is an official statement from the company:
“We are saddened by the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado, this morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, the associates at the Century Theater and the Aurora community.
These senseless, random acts of violence, by disturbed individuals, can happen anywhere, but had never occurred in a U.S. movie theatre in its 110-year history. Safety and security of our guests and associates is always a priority concern. We will take appropriate measures to have our security precautions in place today and every day.
All showings of “Dark Knight Rises” and all other motion pictures at all Marcus Theatres will go on as scheduled.”
Blake Stehoviach showed up to South Shore Cinema in Oak Creek about a half hour before the 1:30 p.m. screening of the Dark Knight Rises, wearing his black Batman shirt and Batman hat.
He couldn’t believe when he heard the news this morning and said it even gave him pause about going today, but it wasn’t going to stop him. He’s a Batman die-hard and has seen every on-screen adaptation, even the original depictions in the 1940s.
"It actually made me kind of nervous thinking about it, but I thought, 'It’s probably just an isolated thing,'" he said. "I've been a Batman fan forever. It ain’t going to change it for me."
But, why?
Holmes is a graduate of a San Diego high school. He was living in Aurora where he attended the University of Colorado School of Medicine, according to the Associated Press. A spokeswomen at the university said he withdrew about a month ago, but with no reason.
His family, still in California, is cooperating with authorities — according to the article — and they are believed to have nothing to do with the shooting.
"Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the families and friends of those involved," the family said in a statement released by police.
Tiny details have surfaced about who Holmes is, pointing to his "quiet and easy going," personality, according to an article on USAToday.com. According to an article on MSNBC.com, Holmes started buying his four weapons legally in May, around the same time he dropped out.
, including information from neighbors.
Holmes' next door neighbor Tom Mai said he was "shocked" to hear about the Aurora shooting, describing the alleged shooter as a "very nice guy."
"I cannot imagine this happening," said Mai, 61, who said he has lived here since 1983.
Mai said Holmes was struggling to find a job after studying neuroscience in college, and he went to Colorado to go back to school. The Holmes family was kind, Mai said, inviting his family over for Christmas parties in the 10 years they had been neighbors.
Mai has four children, including 16-year-old Anthony Mai who described James Holmes as a happy guy who walked around smiling.
Speculation has already arisen about the similarities between the shooting and parts of the new movie, but no other reason or rhyme has been discovered.
Stephanie Steiner-Thorne commented on the Greenfield Patch Facebook page about the incident, turning her attention toward the suspect.
"I just read about that," she wrote. "Very sad and absolutely crazy! I'm interested to hear more about his behavior and background. It's sad to hear these types of things and the suspect just snaps one day and had no criminal history and stuff. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families."
How do you react to this tragedy? Tell us in the comments.
Got anything else, Randy?
But honestly, I've found it's pointless to discuss anything with you. I'll wait for Hoffa, who at least has a sense of humor
Personally, I don't think this is a topic in need of a lot of humor at this point, but if that's your preference, bring on the chuckles. I certainly won't be involving myself in that portion of the discussion.
The guy is most likely a loon. We still don't know his motives for when and where, even though it appears he'd been planning something like this for months. So feel free to ignore what else I've been saying -- that this is neither an excuse for gun control laws or vigilantism.
It's becoming all too common and acceptable for folks to utilize a tragedy of this nature to push a political or personal agenda. In addition to being just plan insensitive, it's dangerous. It distracts from the real issues, distorts the import of the pet issues of those who would do it and makes potential victims of those targeted as supposedly being part of the root cause of the incident.
My concern was for the safety of innocents. If Rush tipped Holmes into the final decision, Rush could affect others in a similar way, and a good prevention would be for Rush to retract. The whole theory Rush about the Hollywood conspiracy once again makes Rush appears again to be an extreme fool. The character Bane has been around for a couple of decades, and not invented by movie writers or to reflect on Bain Capital. At one time, Rush Limbaugh was the leading Republican in Presidential polls. He is much more than "an entertainer". and has the power to direct peoples actions in strange ways, such as with how totally odd Bob McGuire acts.
You have an intelligent young man, possibly with some mental illness, experiencing a lot of frustration in his life recently (unable to find work, possibly failing in his graduate school program) and he snaps. But what prompts a person to take it out on a crowd of innocent people? What got inside his head to make him do it in this way? It's a question that bears asking, and at least this one is still alive for us to ask it.
http://wauwatosa.patch.com/blog_posts/politics-and-the-dark-knight-rises
If you want to ride the politically motivated conspiracy theory horse until it runs out of gas for lack of corroboration, you're free to do so. Hoffa and McBride are merely pointing out that it makes you, and others who partake in it, look like a bunch of jackasses. "… and a good prevention would be for Rush to retract." Yeah, because mentally psychotic people who are tipped over the edge tend to become miraculously sane again when a retraction is offered. I'm so glad that there are people like you out there to make sure that we're all protected against such deranged people that would do us harm by offering such logical and common sensical solutions! "You were really supportive of Rush's nutball comments about Bane...." Please provide a quote in support of this accusation. "Thank goodness you have no followers." You appear to be pretty interested in following Hoffa's postings!
So you have unequivocably stated that Rush Limbaugh had no influence on Holmes regarding the Bane/Bain remarks? I want to bookmark that. And that the connection between Rush and Holmes was not a rational concern, no matter what the party affiliation? Otherwise, what is your beef at this point?
Where's the quote I asked you to provide? "... because of political embarrassment to the far right." Umm... yeah, try because there's no evidence linking the two events. You want to blame Rush, hey, Hoffa certainly can't stop you from doing so. But Hoffa will point out that it makes you come off as being little more than an exploiting, finger pointing ass. Personally, Hoffa believes that the fault lies solely with James Holmes. It's premised on this concept called personal responsibility - you may want to look it up! "You are on record as agreeing with Rush about his conspiracy theories, even broadening them." Again, please provide a quote. "So you have unequivocably stated that Rush Limbaugh had no influence on Holmes regarding the Bane/Bain remarks?" Hoffa didn't need to definitely make such a statement - the facts speak for themselves. "I want to bookmark that." Be my guest. You'll never admit that you were wrong and exploiting this situation to engage in extremely divisive partisan politics. "And that the connection between Rush and Holmes was not a rational concern, no matter what the party affiliation?" What connection between Rush and Holmes - please cite your source. "Otherwise, what is your beef at this point?" Only what it always is - the low information, non-thinking people and those who attempt to exploit them.
I suggest you try to understand that good investigators consider many factors in a crisis, run down leads and theories, hope to stem further damage, and do not hold back because somebody's feelings may be hurt. You seem to be utterly outraged, and maybe we need to tiptoe around you. I think your concern that I influence the low information non-thinking voter is really quite the spin. I leave that to you and McGuire. I believe I have made my valid points, and am not going to stay here all day and debate someone that has lost it.
You're making illogical correlations because you're theory has been proven idiotic, you're not a big enough man to admit that you're wrong, and your rigid ideology prevents you from doing anything else except going all in on such stupidity and attacking others for calling you out on it! Does Hoffa believe that some in Hollywood have a predisposed partisan political bias that is apparent in the product they produce - absolutely, and unashamedly so! Did Hoffa ever state that he bought into or supported Rush's specific claims about the new Batman film - NEVER. It's not Hoffa's role to "take Rush to task" for his comments, as Hoffa believes in the sanctity of free speech, one of the cornerstone rights of the principles that founded our nation. If you believe in censorship in the name of the 'greater-good,' it's your right to do so and espouse such a belief on public forums. But it's also my right to call you out on such an un-American position. Good investigators work off the objective facts and available evidence. Again, you have nothing connecting Holmes to Rush, but keep on insisting that you do. For all you know, it could have been Obama's recent rant against successful people that set the guy off, but you never raised that possibility. WHY? It happened shortly after Obama gave that speech. Coincidence? Maybe Elizabeth Warren claiming to be a Native American caused him to start stock piling weapons and ammo. Or maybe, the guy is just a nut!
You guys have managed the equivalent of arguing about grandma's property during her funeral.
You have no guesses about my stance on gun control, as I haven't given it yet. Nor will I here, as it isn't the time or the place.
And it may be Vigilanti that in your particular world view you don't see any need for anyone to own these, but there are others that do. Part of living in a free society includes the possibility that others may own something that you don't want or care for.