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Aurora Shooting

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Aurora Shooting
Inside the Aurora Colorado Shooting On the night of July 20th, 2012 the term tragedy was rewritten as the largest mass shooting in United States history took place in a movie theater located in Aurora, Colorado. What is now known as “The Batman Massacre” resulted in twelve casualties, fifty eight injuries, grief ridden family members, and left the rest of the United States searching for answers. This horrific scene will be replayed in the minds of the survivors for life and will be one of grave devastation to the family members directly involved. The shooting has many dynamic angles to consider, especially the ones that involve the shooter. Included here is his background, the legal issues inflicted, and his motive to carry out such a daunting process. Such a catastrophe surfaces a question wondered by all. What happened the night of July 20th, and what motives can lead an individual to carry out such horrific acts? When James Holmes walked into the Aurora Century 16 multiplex theatre, he had different plans than the hundreds of people filing in to the sold out premier of Batman: The Dark Night Rises. The evening was filled with excitement for the final part of the Batman movie sequel, and anticipation for its long awaited arrival created a buzz in theatre. People of all ages we dressed up as various characters in the film, creating a memorable and unique scene. This was only to be experienced by the select few that got the privilege to see the film before the rest of the world. Included in this was Holmes, who bought a movie ticket dressed as the character Bane, wearing a gas mask and all black attire (including a bullet proof vest and bullet proof leggings). He then slipped out of the theatre to prop open the front right emergency exit door and gather up his weapons. When the allotted time was right, Holmes entered back through the side door, tossed tear gas into the crowd, and unloaded fire amongst the sold out crowd. He continued firing for a few minutes


Cited: Kari Huus, Prosecutors Persue Two-Tracks against James Holmes in Colorado Massacre (2012), http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/30/13033501-prosecutors-pursue-two-track-strategy-against-james-holmes-in-colorado-massacre?lite United States of America v Jana Winter, Colorado Movie Massacre Suspect Hit With Murder, Attempted Murder Charges (2012),http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/30/colorado-movie-massacre-suspect-to-be-formally-charged/ Thomson Reuters, First Degree Murder Overview (2012), http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/first-degree-murder-overview.html Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984, Pub The Official Colorado State Web Portal, Colorado Gun Laws (2012), http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/StatePatrol-Main/CBON/1251594549010 Jenny Deam, Prosecution Abruptly Drops Bid for James Holmes’ Notebook (2012), http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/20/nation/la-na-nn-colorado-shooting-notebook-20120920 -------------------------------------------- [ 7 ]. Jana Winter, Colorado Movie Massacre Suspect Hit With Murder, Attempted Murder Charges (2012), http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/30/colorado-movie-massacre-suspect-to-be-formally-charged/ [ 8 ] [ 9 ]. Thomson Reuters, First Degree Murder Overview, ¶3 (2012), http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/first-degree-murder-overview.html [ 10 ] [ 17 ]. Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984, Pub. L. No 98-473, 98 Stat. 2067 (1999) [ 18 ] [ 19 ]. Kari Huus, Prosecutors Persue Two-Tracks against James Holmes in Colorado Massacre, ¶21 (2012), http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/30/13033501-prosecutors-pursue-two-track-strategy-against-james-holmes-in-colorado-massacre?lite [ 20 ]
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