Aurora, Colorado Batman Shooting

[Mark Skarr]

For those of you who don't know, there was a mass-shooting at the Century 16 theatre in Aurora, Colorado during the midnight showing of Batman.
Neither myself nor my roommates (Hand of Bobb and Sabrina) were there, though it is directly across the street from where I work.  However, Sabrina's little brother and several of their friends were there.  And one of her brother's friends was a victim.
I have been on the phone with everyone I know starting about 0400 this morning, letting people know that we're all fine.

[LynnInDenver]

I've been checking my friends that might have potentially gone to the showing. So far, no indications any were at the site at the time.

What's made this worse for me is knowing exactly where the theater is, and the guy's booby trapped apartment. When Columbine happened, I only had a vague idea of where it was. These places, in both cases (at different times), I lived less than 5 miles from them, and passed them every single day.
--

"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor

[robkelk]

Thanks, both of you, for checking in.

The news up here is reporting that one of the victims had narrowly avoided being at a different shooting in Toronto...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Black Aeronaut]

Yeah, she was a local to San Antonio. The news has been going non-stop over this.

I feel really terrible for these people. That someone gets it in their mind to take their vengeance out of people that have nothing to do with his plight... UGH.

I'm just glad the that SWAT team didn't go in guns blazing at his apartment. From what I've been hearing about that, they're still trying to figure out how to get into that place without it cooking off.

[Berk]

This is probably the best commentary on this sort of thing.
I really don't like how news channels cover these.
- Grumpy Uncle Gearhead

[LynnInDenver]

I'm just glad the that SWAT team didn't go in guns blazing at his apartment. From what I've been hearing about that, they're still trying to figure out how to get into that place without it cooking off.

They still haven't licked it, but some indications are that they plan on detonating some of it "in place", and move some other stuff to detonate elsewhere, once they figure out a way in without causing it all to detonate.
Indications are that the door had been unlocked but set on a trigger, and he had music blaring that started on a timer right about when he started shooting at the theater, possibly in a bid to get a neighbor or the landlord to step in to see what was up.
That's the really bad part. Bad enough to take out people in a crowded theater, but to also set it up so that people might have died in their sleep, and even now might still be rendered homeless... Ugh.
Just. Ugh.
--

"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor

[Black Aeronaut]

I know, this was seriously one nasty piece of work. Police suspect that it was also meant to slow their response at the movie theater. Probably why he gave up so easily - once he saw the cops were there in force he knew his plan had backfired.

Also, if the purchases of fertilizer are so carefully monitored these days, then why the hell aren't they doing the same with ammo purchases? Seriously, someone that buys that much ammo is obviously not a hobbyist (or at least if he is they're taking their hobby to potentially unsafe levels). I mean, seriously, I love the idea of a gun you can load on Monday and shoot 'til Sunday, but even I have limits!