# 12 people shot dead at BATMAN movie screening in Denver. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2012, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835 "2012-07-20T09:31:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/181 "2012-07-20T22:57:18Z")
> [@MostlyClueless](#): > > The same criminals who now buy their weapons at the local 7-11? Surely you jest. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/182 "2012-07-20T23:12:34Z")
> [@MostlyClueless](#): > > On one hand, they do only have [half the firearms deaths of the US](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate). > > On the other hand, that’s still 4.7 deaths per 100.000 people each year. > > Compare that to the Netherlands, 0.7 deaths. Most of Europe barely makes it past 1.5 deaths. It’s to be expected; like Mexico, they suffer from being next to America and its ocean of guns. Guns are like a plague we spread to our neighbors. In Europe most people including the criminals don’t have (or want) guns in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/183 "2012-07-20T23:13:39Z")
The shooter apparently gassed the theater with tear gas. I wondered if tear gas was really commercially available. Turns out it is. What the hell, who needs to buy a [tear gas grenade?](http://www.keepshooting.com/clear-out-6oz-tear-gas-grenade.html) Please tell me you need some kind of permit to buy this stuff over the internet. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/184 "2012-07-20T23:14:22Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > It’s to be expected; like Mexico, they suffer from being next to America and its ocean of guns. Guns are like a plague we spread to our neighbors. In Europe most people including the criminals don’t have (or want) guns in the first place. Then why has crime been going down in the US for decades despite the fact that gun laws have increasingly been liberalized? Not to mention by this logic Canada should be also suffering from a “plague” of guns. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/185 "2012-07-20T23:21:11Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The company that owns the movie theater chain says it won’t allow people to come to movies in costume anymore. What a stupid asshole response. They’re a distant second to the shooter, but it’s a really stupid policy. I have tried, but I really can’t conceive of a more asinine response than this. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/186 "2012-07-20T23:25:42Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > In Europe most people including the criminals don’t have (or want) guns in the first place. For some reason, I always keep forgetting about the vast, _vast_ amount of time you spent living in Europe; Care to remind me please? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/187 "2012-07-20T23:26:49Z")
> [@D-bear](#): > > The building is fairly new, all stadium seating digital sound and picture, so it’s not exactly a given that it’ll be closed and torn down. What do the teeming millions say? Would you go there to catch a flick? I haven’t gone to the movies in years, but if I did I wouldn’t be especially concerned about going there. This doesn’t appear to be something like a gang related shooting, where you can reasonably worry about something similar happening in the area again. This appears to be just another lone loony, and they can show up anywhere. > [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Then why has crime been going down in the US for decades despite the fact that gun laws have increasingly been liberalized? Because guns don’t usually cause crime, they just make it worse when it happens. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/188 "2012-07-20T23:34:08Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Of course he’s a White guy. Blacks kill a lot of each other, but in like 1s & 2s, and usually in private. Something this horrible takes a White guy. Is that a racist statement? Well, yeah, but when’s the last time a Black guy (in the USA) racked up any sort of body count in a single session? Mass murder is just not their game. Well, [“black rage” can apparently be blamed for mass killings](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Ferguson_(mass_murderer)) in some cases. Every time I hear about this kind of incident, it makes me think about how if more people would take mental illness seriously (instead of having prejudices that people should be able to snap out of it or something) we might be able to prevent some of these tragedies. I think that focusing on mental health would be more productive than trying to blame it on violence in the media or the opposite political party. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/189 "2012-07-20T23:36:54Z")
The shooter was a pre-med or med student. Back in university, I remember we read one study of medical-school students that showed the rate of mental illness increased progressively with each year. Fourth-year students as a whole were much crazier than the first-year students. The researcher could not decide whether medical school drove you crazy or if the sane ones tended to drop out as they went along. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/190 "2012-07-20T23:37:53Z")
[Tom Tomorrow nails it.](http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002981836) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/191 "2012-07-20T23:39:45Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Because guns don’t usually cause crime, they just make it worse when it happens. I dislike agreeing with you, but that is an interesting point. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![D-bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@D-bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D-bear)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/192 "2012-07-20T23:47:13Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The company that owns the movie theater chain says it won’t allow people to come to movies in costume anymore. What a stupid asshole response. They’re a distant second to the shooter, but it’s a really stupid policy. Minor nit pick, but it was AMC that issued the statement that there will be no more masks or mock weapons in it’s theaters. The shooting took place at Century Theaters, which is owned by Cinemark. They have not issued any statements of any kind. Of course I’m sure that they have their hands full, but it’s wierd that they have said nothing so far. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/193 "2012-07-20T23:47:43Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > The shooter was a pre-med or med student. Back in university, I remember we read one study of medical-school students that showed the rate of mental illness increased progressively with each year. I vaguely recall that med students mistakenly believe they have the diseases they study, too. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/194 "2012-07-20T23:51:48Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > From [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/20/us/colorado-theater-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t1): > > “The man suspected in the mass shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater screening of the new Batman film early Friday had colored his hair red and told police he was ‘the Joker,’ according to a federal law enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation.” > > OWS? Tea Party? > Solid member of the Loony Party, apparently. Whoa. Did he actually say, “I’m the joker”. It’s a shame, CNN is starting to slip when it comes to credibility to me. Everyone is so eager to get the story first, I don’t really trust the stories anymore until a bit of time passes. And, by the way, the Joker doesn’t have red hair, does he? I mean, maybe he does in certain comic books or something? ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/195 "2012-07-21T00:00:20Z")
No, the Joker has always had green hair. So either something’s being miss-reported, or the shooter isn’t much of a Batman fan after all. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/196 "2012-07-21T00:06:11Z")
The news is saying his apartment was diabolically booby-trapped and that he told police this. I’m wondering why he would go to all the trouble of diabolically booby-trapping the place and then announcing it. Hoping to get a lenient sentence for cooperation? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/197 "2012-07-21T00:10:16Z")
It’s being reported that he told police was the Joker, yes. I’m not totally confident he said it, but it sounds like he did. I think Ray Kelly (NYPD Police Commissioner) went on the record saying that. And yes, the Joker has green hair and not red and for that matter he’s not in the new movie. The guy didn’t have to be a fan. Maybe he just got fixated on Batman because of all the hype surrounding the Dark Knight Rises premiere. > [@D-bear](#): > > Minor nit pick, but it was AMC that issued the statement that there will be no more masks or mock weapons in it’s theaters. > > The shooting took place at Century Theaters, which is owned by Cinemark. They have not issued any statements of any kind. Of course I’m sure that they have their hands full, but it’s wierd that they have said nothing so far. Thank you for clearing that up. The AMC policy doesn’t bother me, but the Cinemark one is stupid. I’ll have to keep that straight and avoid their theaters. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/198 "2012-07-21T00:14:15Z")
Or maybe he was a huge fan of the Heath Ledger film, identified with the joker, saw himself as some kind of anarchist and decided the Dark Knight Rises would be the best place to make his splash. Or, maybe I am pulling all of this out of my big black ass. Because I also am not convinced he even said it. And if he did, that still doesn’t mean my wild speculations mean a thing. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/199 "2012-07-21T00:27:55Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > What the hell, who needs to buy a [tear gas grenade?](http://www.keepshooting.com/clear-out-6oz-tear-gas-grenade.html) I hate this “need” standard when it comes to weapons. People don’t “need” booze, junk food, cigarettes, pornography, air conditioning, or a whole host of other things in society. The question on banning something in a free society is not whether that something is an absolute necessity, but the reasons for banning it, and if those reasons overcome a free person being able to have it. Maybe tear gas meets that threshold, but the whole “who needs X” is the wrong starting point. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/200 "2012-07-21T00:43:09Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > The shooter was a pre-med or med student. Back in university, I remember we read one study of medical-school students that showed the rate of mental illness increased progressively with each year. Fourth-year students as a whole were much crazier than the first-year students. The researcher could not decide whether medical school drove you crazy or if the sane ones tended to drop out as they went along. The reports he was a med student weren’t accurate. He was apparently getting a PhD in Neuroscience actually. From my experience, I would say that yes med school does tend to make people depressed, but I don’t think it makes people homicidal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835.md?page=11)