Shooting Massacre at Dark Knight Rises Premiere

[champion]

It's a bit disheartening to see stuff like this happen. Can't understand why someone would just go off on a rampage over a movie premier.

... mental illness?

All the reports so far from people that knew him have Holmes described as a nice, smart, quiet, unassuming guy.

[champion]

Yeah, I didn't mean to imply that he didn't have some mental problem, but initial reports seem to suggest that he in fact didn't. But I think if you do go on a murder spree you're by default considered mentally unstable....

[Serpent Eye]

This is actually the theatre chain I work for (not at this building) so... today was a very rough day at work, and a logistical nightmare!

 

Such a sad event.

[Lord Paul]

It's a bit disheartening to see stuff like this happen. Can't understand why someone would just go off on a rampage over a movie premier.

 

Chances are he wasn't doing this because he had some innate hatred for Batman. As terrible as it sounds, if his intention was to inflict maximum damage, one can see why he choose that particular place and time.

 

What a horrible event.

[Azvareth]

It's a bit disheartening to see stuff like this happen. Can't understand why someone would just go off on a rampage over a movie premier.

 

Chances are he wasn't doing this because he had some innate hatred for Batman. As terrible as it sounds, if his intention was to inflict maximum damage, one can see why he choose that particular place and time.

 

What a horrible event.

 

Exactly, it's the perfect "fish in a barrel" situation. The place is packed, it's dark, people's attention is focused on something else, there's no open space to run, only a few exits.

 

Also, this seems pertinent whenever something like this happens:

 

http://youtu.be/PezlFNTGWv4

 

Especially when I read on a Swedish news site yesterday "the gunman was dressed like a Batman villain" jesus christ.

[sees_all1]

Exactly, it's the perfect "fish in a barrel" situation. The place is packed, it's dark, people's attention is focused on something else, there's no open space to run, only a few exits.

And which law abiding citizen feels the need to bring a weapon to a movie? I bet if you polled everyone in the auditorium, you'd find that the most dangerous thing in there was a pocket knife.

[Makoto_the_Phoenix]

It's a real shame that this happened. I've been going to that particular movie theater for nearly twelve years (although the last time I set foot in a theater was the first Transformers movie), and this is the first time something like this has happened.

 

Looking at the situation though, the only thing that could change in this case would be cosplaying at an event. Everyone assumed that the gunman looked like a villain from the movie, and for the most part, he played that role.

 

About the guns...what can you really do? Stricter policies will make it harder for those responsible with firearms to get them, and give those that aren't plenty of freedom to be creative. Everything the guy had was legal to own, and the general policy for firearms purchases is, if you can pass a background check, you can get them. The smoke bomb, though, I'm told was 100% illegal - you shouldn't have direct access to that as a civilian.

 

This was just a freak incident, and it really, really sucks that people had died in this guy's lapse of sensible judgment. But how could the system change to prevent something like this from happening, while allowing law-abiding, able-bodied and sound-minded citizens to get access to weapons and munitions for their own recreation? Mental health may be a start.

[Ginger_Warrior]

My reaction was distress and sadness, but not shock. Anyone who claims that everyone would find this type of thing "shocking" in a country which has a homicide rate as high as the US's isn't actually speaking for myself.

 

Given healthcare systems around the world, whether public-paid or not, already do a really crap job at picking up people who are suffering from mental health problems (some less conservative estimates say about only about a half of all sufferers ever receive any kind of professional intervention) I'm not sure if the mental healthcare system is really where you need to be looking on this one. End of the day, psychiatrists are doctors and symptoms of MHPs are often not necessarily 'worn on the sleeve' like other illnesses; they're not telepathic.

[Lord Paul]

Exactly, it's the perfect "fish in a barrel" situation. The place is packed, it's dark, people's attention is focused on something else, there's no open space to run, only a few exits.

And which law abiding citizen feels the need to bring a weapon to a movie? I bet if you polled everyone in the auditorium, you'd find that the most dangerous thing in there was a pocket knife.

That is true. I imagine the few people with concealed weapon permits carry their weapon with them to the movies. Might this change that? As long as you aren't going within 1,000 ft of a school/government building/whatever else is prohibitted, ideally said people would always be carrying a gun.

[Danqazmlp]

Again the US gun controls seem absurd to the rest of the world but are still strictly defended by gun-happy people.

 

No civilised society needs access to guns other than possibly those used for hunting. When they are needed, the checks need to be much more stringent than the American system. In the UK, it is so hard to get hold of a gun that it is much less likely (and statistically less likely) for them to be in circulation.

 

To those who say he would have got them illegally, you have to think about how much longer it would have taken and the chance that he could have been caught trying to do so. He managed to get guns and equipment which should have rang alarm bells immediately, but because the gun laws are so relaxed nothing came of it. some of these weapons would have been so hard to get even illegally in the UK, either limiting the damage he did or getting him caught in the process of acquiring them.

 

I'm just not surprised that it happened in America of all places. It isn't only the gun laws, but that is the biggie.

[Orpheus]

... I wonder what his motive was. It might just be time to rethink gun-control policies.

 

Uh, nice try. I'm more or less thinking that mental illness needs to be more recognizable so those individuals can receive help. Gun control has nothing to do with this. The guy is clearly a madman.

 

Gun control does nothing in a country where guns are so easily accessible.

[Jonanananas]

... I wonder what his motive was. It might just be time to rethink gun-control policies.

 

Uh, nice try. I'm more or less thinking that mental illness needs to be more recognizable so those individuals can receive help. Gun control has nothing to do with this. The guy is clearly a madman.

 

Gun control does nothing in a country where guns are so easily accessible.

 

Well I guess you're right that it will probably take a while until such measures are of any use. With lax laws, there are obviously a lot more guns around. Still, over the long run I think they're going to help. You can also get people to hand over weapons to the police with an "amnesty" and possibly a small fee for the inconvenience or something like that.

 

I agree though that society needs to be more aware of mental illnesses and do more to combat them.

[Omnitec]

Police have entered the Colorado flat of the man suspected of shooting dead 12 people at a Batman film screening and dismantled an incendiary device.

Police spokeswoman Cassidee Carlson said officers had "defeated the first threat" by disarming a trip-wire and an incendiary device.

 

From the BBC news: http://www.bbc.co.uk...canada-18937726

 

I really hope the motives behind this have nothing to do with the Batman franchise, but this indeed is a terrible incident

[Serpent Eye]

He wasn't really dressed up in costume as the Joker. At most, I think he had just dyed his hair red.

 

AMC Theatres (the second largest theatre chain the the USA) has now banned people from wearing face-covering masks or bringing fake/toy weapons with them into their theatres, ie, when people dress up for midnight premiers. They have also said that, should someone's costume make any of their other patrons uncomfortable, they will ask the person wearing the costume to leave the premises.

 

My company hasn't taken such a strict policy on it; we think that dressing up for midnight premiers is all part of the fun, although I do think if someone's costume made someone else uncomfortable, we might ask them to change out of it at the least, or move to a different theatre.

 

 

Also, as just another side note, from the theatre's perspective... it doesn't matter if you do or don't have a concealed weapon's permit. You aren't allowed to bring a firearm into the building. Period. The only people who are allowed to bring a firearm into the building with them are the armed guards who pick up cash deposits, and local authorities/police. Otherwise... if I see you have a handgun tucked into your pants, I will ask you to leave. If you show you have a concealed weapon's permit, I will ask you to leave. If you don't comply, I will call the police.

 

:thumbup:

[muggiwhplar]

They have also said that, should someone's costume make any of their other patrons uncomfortable, they will ask the person wearing the costume to leave the premises.

 

:wall:

 

More knee-jerk reactions to protect emotionally-immature people from being offended.

 

God forbid they tell the person who feels uncomfortable to grow up or go somewhere else :roll:

[Serpent Eye]

I meant to mention that based on the wording of the statement from AMC, it sounds like a temporary policy only.

[decebal]

Read about it yesterday morning. Went to see the Dark Knight later on, and nothing interesting happened but the movie.

 

Really hate how the media is clawing at this story. For all we know at the moment, this could be a Herostratic murder. The shooter might have killed those people just to make a name for himself, to see himself seen for once.

 

I also found it funny on CTV news how they mentioned that video games were the cause of this to happen. Kind of getting tired of video games becoming the thing every single worried parent starts blaming when something bad happens.

[Ginger_Warrior]

I stopped watching 24/7 news about two years ago when I ceased to have access to the UK's news channels. I still go on the BBC website several times a day to keep up to speed on current affairs. Honestly, I've not lost anything for making that transition. I really wish 24hr news would go and die a very quick and painful death. If there was honestly enough news in the day to sustain it, then I'd understand, but I think it's made journalism desperate, voyeuristic and too analysis-centric, and journos themselves too sloppy and rushed for time to properly establish facts from speculation, rather than bombard the viewer with as much information as possible.*

 

On many news websites these days, I see pages dedicated to reactions to events, quite often drawing comment from people with no direct or indirect relevance to that event, as if an opinion is newsworthy itself. You can probably also place partial blame on social media for this, given the way Facebook/Twitter and the like essentially encourage people to broadcast 'news' about their lives, and their feelings about it.

 

Sadly these days, and probably as is the case for the company Serp works for, I think you have to be seen to be doing something just to ward off this kind of media storm, even if you know full well that the actions you're taking make no difference, or even have the potential to cause further harm.

 

*: (As an aside: Any British people remember Rebecca Leighton? How quickly the media all but labelled her a murderer, stalked her Facebook page and broadcast all sorts of images of her drinking in a nightclub, as if going on a piss-up every now and then has any relevance whatsoever to murdering someone? She was completely and utterly innocent, but is still living through the effects of their lazy and scandalous work.)

[RpgGamer]

... I wonder what his motive was. It might just be time to rethink gun-control policies.

 

easiest claim to fame. It's a deranged thought process, but mass murder is a huge way to gain attention. And the media feeds this fetish thus ushering further generations to outlet their perverse killing instincts. Manson had a really good speech about it in '99 regarding the Columbine killers, saying how by giving news like this front page status, it gives the bullied and deranged everywhere a hero to look to.

[Omar]

Ah, the annual psychopath killing spree reigniting the gun control debate.

This. I really can't believe that at least once a year something like this happens, and every year everyone pretends to be absolutely shocked.

Maybe this reflects poorly on my mental state (and I'm sorry if I somehow offend someone by saying this) but I actually have trouble caring about things like this anymore. Hearing about it just seems to have no effect on me.

Same. If I think about it for a while, it gets to me, but I have to make the effort. It might have more to do with having lost someone dear than simply being apathetic though. It's never happened to me.

[obfuscator]

 

Also, as just another side note, from the theatre's perspective... it doesn't matter if you do or don't have a concealed weapon's permit. You aren't allowed to bring a firearm into the building. Period. The only people who are allowed to bring a firearm into the building with them are the armed guards who pick up cash deposits, and local authorities/police. Otherwise... if I see you have a handgun tucked into your pants, I will ask you to leave. If you show you have a concealed weapon's permit, I will ask you to leave. If you don't comply, I will call the police.

 

:thumbup:

 

Rules like this are asinine. If you confront someone who has a gun for malicious purposes, he's just going to shoot you and continue with what he was doing. But by preventing people who own guns legally for protection from carrying them in, you're removing a deterrent or protective force from the premises. Exactly the same goes for those "no guns within x distance of a school" rules. Someone who wants to shoot up a school is not going to heed the rule, and anyone who might otherwise have a gun who could stop the shooter is going to obey that rule.

[Jonanananas]

Also, as just another side note, from the theatre's perspective... it doesn't matter if you do or don't have a concealed weapon's permit. You aren't allowed to bring a firearm into the building. Period. The only people who are allowed to bring a firearm into the building with them are the armed guards who pick up cash deposits, and local authorities/police. Otherwise... if I see you have a handgun tucked into your pants, I will ask you to leave. If you show you have a concealed weapon's permit, I will ask you to leave. If you don't comply, I will call the police.

 

:thumbup:

 

Rules like this are asinine. If you confront someone who has a gun for malicious purposes, he's just going to shoot you and continue with what he was doing. But by preventing people who own guns legally for protection from carrying them in, you're removing a deterrent or protective force from the premises. Exactly the same goes for those "no guns within x distance of a school" rules. Someone who wants to shoot up a school is not going to heed the rule, and anyone who might otherwise have a gun who could stop the shooter is going to obey that rule.

 

You're right that it doesn't help with shootings like this at all. It's only useful for limiting the damage that someone might do if a conflict/argument escalates, not if he planned to do anything with the weapon beforehand.

 

 

The best way is still not to give guns into private people's hands at all imo, the problem is just that in a country like the USA, where weapons are so prevalent, it's going to take a while until enough firearms are actually secured for this law to work properly.

[Kimberly]

One of the Lead Moderators of gamefaqs was in the in the theater when it happened, which is originally how I heard of it. (On the previous night I didn't turn on the TV at all.) Just kind of insane.

[obfuscator]

Also, as just another side note, from the theatre's perspective... it doesn't matter if you do or don't have a concealed weapon's permit. You aren't allowed to bring a firearm into the building. Period. The only people who are allowed to bring a firearm into the building with them are the armed guards who pick up cash deposits, and local authorities/police. Otherwise... if I see you have a handgun tucked into your pants, I will ask you to leave. If you show you have a concealed weapon's permit, I will ask you to leave. If you don't comply, I will call the police.

 

:thumbup:

 

Rules like this are asinine. If you confront someone who has a gun for malicious purposes, he's just going to shoot you and continue with what he was doing. But by preventing people who own guns legally for protection from carrying them in, you're removing a deterrent or protective force from the premises. Exactly the same goes for those "no guns within x distance of a school" rules. Someone who wants to shoot up a school is not going to heed the rule, and anyone who might otherwise have a gun who could stop the shooter is going to obey that rule.

 

You're right that it doesn't help with shootings like this at all. It's only useful for limiting the damage that someone might do if a conflict/argument escalates, not if he planned to do anything with the weapon beforehand.

 

 

The best way is still not to give guns into private people's hands at all imo, the problem is just that in a country like the USA, where weapons are so prevalent, it's going to take a while until enough firearms are actually secured for this law to work properly.

 

Of course. But those are pretty rare imo...

 

And yeah, complete gun control is the only solution, but I can't see it ever being feasible in north america.

[Racheya]

It's a bit disheartening to see stuff like this happen. Can't understand why someone would just go off on a rampage over a movie premier.

 

Chances are he wasn't doing this because he had some innate hatred for Batman. As terrible as it sounds, if his intention was to inflict maximum damage, one can see why he choose that particular place and time.

 

What a horrible event.

 

Exactly, it's the perfect "fish in a barrel" situation. The place is packed, it's dark, people's attention is focused on something else, there's no open space to run, only a few exits.

 

Also, this seems pertinent whenever something like this happens:

 

http://youtu.be/PezlFNTGWv4

 

Especially when I read on a Swedish news site yesterday "the gunman was dressed like a Batman villain" jesus christ.

 

It's almost chillingly funny how true that video rings to not just this case, but every single case of mass murder or mass shooting that comes to light. The event is horrible and horrific but the way the media presents these things just perpetuates the tragedy more.