2012 Aurora theater shooting
On July 20, 2012, a mass shooting occurred inside a Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, United States, during a midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises. Dressed in tactical clothing, 24-year-old James Eagan Holmes set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms. Twelve people were killed, and 70 others were injured, 58 of them from gunfire.
2012 Aurora theater shooting
14300 East Alameda Avenue,
Aurora, Colorado, U.S.
Audience watching The Dark Knight Rises
Mass shooting, mass murder, tear gas attack
12
70 (58 from gunfire, 4 from tear gas, 8 from fleeing accidents)[3]
Disputed:
- Acquiring fame/infamy[4] (prosecution)
- Severe mental illness (defense)
- Undetermined[5] (psychological evaluation)
- First-degree murder (24 counts)
- Attempted first-degree murder (140 counts)
- Possessing an illegal explosive device
12 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole plus 3,318 years
It is the deadliest shooting by a lone perpetrator in the history of Colorado and the state's second-deadliest mass shooting, just after the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. At the time, the event had the largest number of victims (82) in one shooting in modern U.S. history.[6] This number was later surpassed by the 107 victims of the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting and eventually the 927 victims of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.
Holmes was arrested minutes later in his car outside the cinema. Earlier, he had rigged his apartment with homemade explosives and incendiary devices. These were defused by the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad a day after the shooting.
Fearing copycat crimes, movie theaters showing the same film across the United States increased their security. Gun sales increased in Colorado, and political debates were generated about gun control in the United States.
Holmes confessed to the shooting but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Arapahoe County prosecutors sought the death penalty. The trial began on April 27, 2015. On July 16 of that year, Holmes was convicted of 24 counts of first-degree murder, 140 counts of attempted first-degree murder, and one count of possessing explosives. On August 7, the jury deadlocked on whether to impose the death penalty. On August 26, Holmes was given 12 life sentences, one for every person he killed; he also received 3,318 years for the attempted murders of those he wounded and for rigging his apartment with explosives.[7]
Events[edit]
Shooting[edit]
The shooting occurred in Theater 9 at the Century 16 multiplex (operated by Cinemark Theatres), located in the Town Center at Aurora shopping mall[8] at 14300 E. Alameda Avenue.[9] Police said that Holmes bought a ticket, entered the theater, and sat in the front row. About 20 minutes into the film, he left theater 9 through an emergency exit door beside the movie screen, with direct access to the lightly used parking area at the back of the complex, while propping the door slightly open with a plastic tablecloth holder.[10] There were about 400 people inside theater 9.[11]
Holmes went to his car (which he had parked near the exit door), changed into protective clothing, and retrieved his guns.[12][13] About 30 minutes into the movie, police say, around 12:30 a.m.,[14] he reentered the theater through the exit door. Holmes was dressed in black and wore a gas mask, a load-bearing vest, a ballistic helmet, bullet-resistant leggings, a bullet-resistant throat protector, a groin protector, and tactical gloves.[15] He was listening to techno music through a set of headphones so that he could not hear anything from people in the theater.[16] Initially, few in the audience considered Holmes to be a threat. Some witnesses thought he was wearing a costume, like other audience members who had dressed up for the screening. Some believed he was playing a prank,[17] while others thought he was part of a special effects setup for the film's premiere, or a publicity stunt by the studio or theater management.[18]
Holmes reportedly threw one canister towards the left[19] side of the theatre, emitting a gas or smoke, that partially obscured the audience members' vision, made their throats and skin itch, and caused eye irritation.[20] He fired a 12-gauge Remington 870 Express Tactical shotgun, first at the ceiling and then at the audience. He also fired a Smith & Wesson M&P15[21] semi-automatic rifle with a 100-round drum magazine, which eventually malfunctioned.[21][22][23] Finally, he fired a .40-caliber Glock 22 Gen4 handgun.[24][25] He shot first to the back of the room, and then toward people in the aisles.[18] A bullet passed through the wall and hit three people in adjacent theater 8, which was screening the same film.[3][8] Witnesses said the multiplex's fire alarm system began sounding soon after the attack began, and staff told people in Theater 8 to evacuate.[26]
Holmes fired 76 shots in the theater: six from the shotgun, 65 from the semi-automatic rifle, and five from the .40-caliber handgun.[27]
Police response[edit]
The first phone calls to emergency services via 9-1-1 were made around midnight, prior to his attack, as can be heard in the opening statements of the prosecution, as well as the recorded transcript of his interview with the FBI. At 12:39 a.m., after he began shooting, other victims began to call the Police who arrived within 90 seconds[28] and found three .40-caliber handgun magazines, a shotgun, and a large drum magazine on the floor of the theater.[29] Some people reported the shooting via Twitter or text messaging rather than calling the police; officers were already at the theater by the time that the tweets were sent.[22] Ambulances were hindered by chaos and congestion in the parking lot, and they were unable to reach the back of the complex where police had pulled the injured out through the emergency exit doors of Theatre 9. Sgt. Stephen Redfearn, one of the first police officers to arrive on the scene, sent victims to area hospitals in squad cars.[30]
At about 12:45 a.m., police officer Jason Oviatt apprehended Holmes[13][31] behind the cinema, next to his car, without resistance. Because of his tactical clothing, Holmes was at first mistaken for another police officer.[32] He was described as being calm and "disconnected" during his arrest.[31] Two federal officials said that Holmes had dyed his hair red and called himself "The Joker", although authorities later declined to confirm this.[33][34] Three days later, at his first court appearance in Centennial, Colorado, Holmes's hair appeared reddish-orange.[33][35][36] Later, the Colorado district attorney who prosecuted Holmes said he never called himself The Joker, and blamed the federal officials for the rumor.[37] The officers found several firearms in the theater and inside the shooter's car, including another Glock 22 handgun.[38] Holmes was found carrying a first aid kit and spike strips, which he later admitted in an interview he had planned to use if police either shot at or chased him.[39]
Following his arrest, Holmes was initially jailed at the Arapahoe County Detention Center, under suicide watch.[40] The police interviewed more than 200 witnesses of the shooting.[41] Speaking on behalf of himself and FBI agent James Yacone, who was in charge of the investigation, Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said he was confident that the shooter acted alone.[28]
Aftermath[edit]
Sale of guns and gun control debate[edit]
Colorado gun sales spiked after the shooting, with the number of background checks for people seeking to purchase a firearm in the state increasing to 2,887, up 43% from the previous week.[174] Gun sales in Washington, Florida, California, and Georgia also increased.[175] The shooting reignited the political debate on gun control, with one issue being the "easy access" Holmes had two semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines, which were banned federally from 1994 to 2004.[176][177] The results of a survey released on July 30, 2012, by the Pew Research Center suggested the incident did not change Americans' views on the issue.[178]
Campaign against media coverage[edit]
In 2015, a campaign titled "No Notoriety" was started by the parents of Alexander Teves, who died in the shooting. According to Teves' father, the campaign's incentive is to encourage media outlets to limit the usage of the suspect's name and photos when reporting about the Aurora shooting, as well as other mass shootings that receive national media coverage. In an interview on CNN, Teves' parents said they and the relatives of other victims believe the mass media coverage of Holmes' name and photo may inspire others to commit mass shootings for notoriety.[179][180]
Theater[edit]
The Century 16 theater where the shooting occurred was rebranded as the Century Aurora theater by its parent company Cinemark Theatres. Despite heavy criticism from families and loved ones of victims,[181][182] the theater was not demolished and reopened to the public after cleaning and renovation on January 25, 2013, nearly 6 months after the shooting.[181] The reopening ceremony, which was boycotted by opponents of the theater's reopening, included a memorial service and a screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.[181] Theater room nine, where the actual shooting occurred, was combined with an adjoining room into a new XD theater room.[182][183]
Memorial[edit]
A memorial to the victims of the attack was installed near Aurora Municipal Center, some 850 m (929.57 yd) from the theater, and dedicated on July 19, 2018, one day before the sixth anniversary of the attack. It consists of a park-like dell with 83 abstract birds, one for each victim. Thirteen of the birds, with translucent wings, are on a center column and represent the twelve dead and the unborn child. The memorial, titled "Ascentiate", was designed by artist Douwe Blumberg.[184]
Copycats[edit]
In July 22nd, 2015 two brothers murdered 5 of their family members; one of the perpetrators claimed that he and his brother planned the act for some time and intended to commit a shooting spree outside the family, hoping it would rival and even outdo both the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and The Aurora Theater Shooting.[185][186][187][188]