71 People Shot, 12 Confirmed Dead at Aurora, Colorado 'Dark Knight Rises' Midnight Screening

Posted 10:49 AM July 20th, 2012 by Binh Ngo
James Holmes

A total of 71 people were shot, with 12 confirmed dead, in a deadly shooting during the midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises at the Century 16 Movie Theater in Aurora, Colorado on Friday.

The suspected shooter, 24-year-old James Holmes, was arrested in the back of the theater's parking lot near his car. He had with him a gas mask, a rifle, a shotgun, and two pistols. He was dressed like The Joker and referred to himself as such to the police.

According to reports, Holmes is a graduate student at the University of Colorado-Denver, studying for his Ph.D. in neuroscience. He was in the process of withdrawing from the program at the time of the shooting. No motive for the shooting is known at this time. Read more about Holmes here.

According to witnesses, the suspect may have entered the crowded theater through an exit door and set off a gas canister before opening fire.

One witness thought it was all a show before she realized what was happening.

“I thought it was showmanship. I didn't think it was real,” she said.

In response to this tragic event, Warner Bros. has cancelled the red carpet premiere of The Dark Knight Rises and any press-related activities in Paris.

Beyond the cancellation of the Paris red carpet event, the studio is monitoring the situation to see if the drastic measure of cancelling screenings across the country is warranted.

Warner Bros. is also trying to remove trailers for Gangster Squad which has a scene depicting a gangster opening fire in a crowed theater.

The studio has released the following statement:

“Warner Bros. and the filmmakers are deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident. We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time.”

Here's some footage someone took at the time of the shooting:

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Binh previously worked with Senh Duong on RottenTomatoes.com as its Editor-in-Chief. They reteam for the sequel which promises more action, more laughs, and more drama.

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