4.8
July 25, 2012

20 Things that jump out about the Dark Knight Aurora Shooting.

Update, #21 via Daily What:

Meet Hugo Medley…was born Tuesday to parents Katie and Caleb Medley.

Katie escaped the theater uninjured, but Caleb was shot in the eye and suffered brain damage, and he remains in a medically induced coma.

UPDATE: A website has been launched to raise money for the uninsured family of three, who face up to $2 million in medical bills. Donations…total $240,000 in just under 48 hours.

Update: this one goes along with #1:

20 Things that jump out about the Dark Knight Aurora Shooting.

1. “I’m frustrated that toy guns are no longer allowed in AMC theaters but it’s still totally cool to have a loaded firearm secretly nestled under your belt as you munch on your popcorn.”

2. “Three heroes died in Aurora taking bullets for their girlfriends.” [NYDN] And at least one more covered his (pregnant) girlfriend with his own body, and lived to tell the tale.

3. One of those killed in Aurora is a 6-year-old girl.

4. One of those killed, Jessica “Redfield” Ghawi, had survived (and written about) a shooting a month and a half ago.

5. The suspect’s mother’s reaction when called by ABC News: “You have the right person… I need to call the police… I need to fly out to Colorado.”

6. Heartbreaking first relevant audio via police scanner: 1:27: “Bring as much crime scene tape as you can.”

7. Excerpt: Initial public statement from President Obama: “As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family. All of us must have the people of Aurora in our thoughts and prayers as they confront the loss of family, friends, and neighbors, and we must stand together with them in the challenging hours and days to come.”

8. In Colorado, the shooting has prompted a sudden surge in gun sales.

9. Holmes was previously rejected from membership in a gun club.

Glenn Rotkovich, owner of a private Colorado gun range outside Denver, quickly concluded there was something wrong with Holmes.

Holmes applied to join the range in late June. But Rotkovich said that after calling Holmes back and hearing a “bizarre” voice mail message — spoken in a strange, low-pitched voice with heavy breathing — he concluded he didn’t want Holmes as a member.

“I flagged him to people and said, if he shows up, I don’t trust him.”

10. Salon on Aurora: “Anybody in this country who wants to kill a lot of people in a crowded public space can do so fairly easily. The fact this almost never happens indicates how wildly overstated the threat of terrorism is in America today.”

11. Aurora shooting victim could face $2 million in medical bills because of lack of health insurance.

12. James Holmes got his (AR) ammo off the internet without any background check.

13. “They put [James Holmes] in solitary because the other prisoners wanted to kill him.”

14. Batman doesn’t use guns; hates them.

15. Holmes could have killed many more, but his assault rifle jammed. Some mixed reports on this one.

16. He spent days booby-trapping his apartment with explosives, then warned the police about it when he was captured. Weird.

17. Via a CNN commenter: “…he shot 60 people who did not die. He loaded his shotgun with birdshot instead of buckshot, and the .40 cal Glocks are far deadlier than the Bushmaster AR-15 (same model used by the DC snipers). The military rounds went on through, even through the walls, instead of mushrooming and tumbling inside the bodies. The Glocks leave a fist-sized exit wound, and every core body shot is a kill shot.

The grenades he built from gunpowder salvaged the 6000 bullets he bought and commercial fireworks were deadly enough that each one of the 30 grenades he booby-trapped his home with would have killed more than 12 people in a crowded packed theater. There were 15 other theaters after he finished the first one.

He hasn’t slept much and was drowzy at court. His demeanor tells nothing about his sanity…”

18. Find somewhere to donate here.

19. “Long-term trends suggest that we are in fact currently experiencing a waning culture of guns and violence in the United States.” “States with stricter gun control laws have fewer deaths from gun-related violence.” “More guns tend to mean more homicide.”

20. If you have more little bits of news, or quotes, or facts that have stood out or touched you, please share below.

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