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Even with all of the hype surrounding the new Batman movie, “The Dark Knight Rises“, no one ever could have imagined how dark they day would become. At a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, a lone gunman entered the building during the showing of the new movie opening fire, killing at least 12 and wounding close to 60 others. The mayhem surrounding the shooting has caused numerous stars associated with the film including Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman to offer their condolences and prayers to those lost and injured in the massacre.
The police arrested James Holmes in the parking lot of the theater shortly after the shooting spree ended. He supposedly referred to himself as the “Joker” and made declarations about being Batman’s enemy. Holmes had even taken steps to look like Heath Ledger’s version of the character by painting his hair bright red. Experts say this is similar to one of the scenes in which Ledger’s character escaped from a hospital before destroying the building. Much like the character in the movie, Holmes was loaded with weapons and showed no remorse as he entered the theater and began firing at random. Dressed in black and armed with tear gas, body armor and an arsenal of guns, his intentions were clear as to what he wanted to accomplish.
Little was known of Holmes prior to the shooting. He was a PhD student from California who had recently moved to the Aurora, Colorado area in 2011 and enrolled in the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine. Nobody has even speculated as to the reasons behind the mass shooting, but it is apparent he had been planning it for quite some time. Sophisticated bombs and a variety of explosives were found in the shooter’ car and apartment. Right now investigators can only guess why the man felt the need to cause such destruction and mayhem.
