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Federal authorities have identified a gunman who opened fire at a Colorado screening of The Dark Knight Rises as 24-year-old James Holmes.

Twelve people have been reported dead and at least 38 injured after Holmes allegedly stormed a midnight screening of the film at a mall in the Denver suburb of Aurora, set off a smoke bomb, and went on a shooting rampage. It’s been reported that the gunman was wearing a bulletproof vest and carried a rifle, handgun and knife. Another gun was purportedly recovered at the theater.

Ten were killed at the scene, and the others died at local hospitals, according to local police. The tragedy has boosted security at screenings of the movie, and in New York, the NYPD plans to beef up security measures at local theaters. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said in a statement that the reinforced efforts are “a precaution against copycats and to raise the comfort levels among movie patrons in the wake of the horrendous shooting in Colorado.”

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. has canceled all media interviews and promotional appearances with the cast, as the film heads into its highly anticipated opening weekend. They’ve issued this statement: “Warner Bros. and the filmmakers are deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident. We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time.”

The Paris premiere has been canceled, as well. It was set to have taken place Friday night and include director Christopher Nolan, as well as stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway and Morgan Freeman.

Stars took to Twitter to express sympathy and horror, including @ChrisEvans, who played Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/ChrisEvans/status/226316030555848704″]

It’s just such a huge tragedy. The Dark Knight Rises has been highly anticipated for years, really, and it’s so sad to have such a horror connected with both this film and the movie industry. People go into a movie theater to escape and have fun. They don’t go in expecting to die or be seriously injured. Will we need to go through metal detectors to see a movie now?

Will you see The Dark Knight Rises? Does this tragedy make you more hesitant to go to the movies? 

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19 COMMENTS

  2. This is such a terrible tragedy. I wasn’t planning on seeing the movie anyway, but if I had children going to the opening weekend, it would make me hesitant in allowing them to go. I wonder if we will live in a society where there will be metal detectors and screening measures anywhere we go?

  3. Since I live in Colorado, not *that* far from the theater, this hits VERY close to home. Several of my 20-something cousins / nieces went to see Dark Night last night, but thankfully, they went to other theaters in Aurora. We watch most movies via Netflix. A friend and I planned to go see a movie (not sure what yet) tomorrow. I’m not so sure now.

  4. This story is so sad/horrifying. Still, I don’t think increased security at theaters is necessarily the answer. Something like this can happen anywhere. At any time. As Alexandra says, preventative measures — like gun control — are what we should be focusing on. 

    • Right – I mean, if someone wants to commit a horrible crime like this, they’ll find a way to do it. But we can make it that much harder if there are more restrictions on guns and weaponry. I live in a somewhat rural area with little crime, so it’s easy for me to say, ok, let’s just get rid of guns. But I might be singing a different tune if I lived in a metro area with a lot of crime and would want a gun to protect myself and my family, should the need arise. I don’t know what the answer is. The bad guys always seem to be able to get their hands on guns.

  5. So disheartening to hear about this. Encountering this news from abroad–from a country (Argentina) with plenty of crime, but basically without senseless, intentional massacres like this–almost makes it affect me more than if I were in the US. My thoughts are with the victims, of course, moments like this I really make me worry about the health of our society.

    • It’d be interesting to learn how other countries stack up in terms of senseless massacres and crimes of evil. I mean, crime is bad no matter the type, but say with a bank robbery, at least there’s a goal in mind. With something like this, it’s just all so senseless and confusing. It makes me worry about the health of our society, too.

    • It makes me wonder what’s going on out there in Colorado, but really, a tragedy like this could happen anywhere. It just takes that one unstable person to cause mass devastation.

  9. I haven’t seen the other two ‘Dark Knight’ movies, so going was not on my agenda. Although, living an hour away from the events in Aurora, a trip to my local theater to see any movie was delayed a few days.

  13. I know this post is a little bit late, but hearing this news some months ago stunned me really. Not because I have relatives or anyone that I know of in that theater, but the fact that these people are innocent trying to watch a movie they wanted to enjoy. It’s very frightening now. I wish there was something that was done prior to the incident, but none. GUN CONTROL NOW!

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