Jonathan Blunk. Alexander J. Boik. Jesse Childress. Gordon Cowden. Jessica Ghawi. John Larimer. Matt McQuinn. Micayla Medek. Veronica Moser-Sullivan. Alex Sullivan. Alexander C. Teves. Rebecca Wingo.
Twelve lives ended alongside 58 injured and countless others forever changed.
Just after midnight on Friday morning, James Eagan Holmes walked into a crowded movie theater in Aurora, CO showing The Dark Knight Rises. He carried with him a Smith & Wesson M&P .223 semi-automatic rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and a Glock .40-caliber handgun while wearing a gas mask, ballistic helmet and various other pieces of protective armor. There was an additional Glock found in his car by police. Holmes would open fire at the unsuspecting patrons of the theater.
Out of the theater came stories truly horrific about the actions taken by Holmes along with many stories of heroic final moments of some of the victims sacrificing themselves to save the lives of their loved ones that were with them in the theater.
When apprehended by authorities, Holmes told them his apartment was rigged with explosives. He would go on to refer to himself as “The Joker”.
These are only some of the details about what happened in Aurora, CO just a few nights ago. What could drive the former Ph.D. graduate student to commit such acts, we may never understand. This wasn’t an act glorifying violence in film and media. This wasn’t a celebration of the actions of a fictional villain. This was the act of an individual who had much deeper rooted problems that no one close to him was able to see before they surfaced, unfortunately at the incalculable loss to other innocents.
The staff of The Flickcast sends out our deepest condolences to all those affected by this horrible tragedy. We cannot fathom what the victims, their families or their friends are going through. All we can do is pledge our support in any way possible and send our thoughts and prayers to all those affected.
