# 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:** 14
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/261 "2012-07-21T18:16:09Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > A friend just posted [this](http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/media/2012/07/how-media-shouldnt-cover-mass-murder) on Facebook, and I wanted to share with you lot. The video clip is from Charlie Booker’s ‘Newswipe’ from March 25, 2009 and the article is from today’s New Statesman. The most interesting part is a (sadly, unidentified) forensic psychiatrist describing how NOT to report on a mass shooting, because to do otherwise can cause copycats. The report doesn’t really provide much evidence that copycat murders are an actual issue. There aren’t actually that many if these incidents, and of the ones that occur I haven’t seen any evidence they were inspired by their predecessors. As a general rule, some combination of mental illness and strange political views seem to be the cause. I think the whole fear of “copycats” is just another example of the urge people have to pin these incidents on some flawed social institution. Some people like to blame the violent videogames, or lack of religious instruction in schools, or whatever. And some people want to blame the news media. Cries of encouraging “Copycats” gives them a mechanism. That by reporting these incidents “wrong”, the media is creating the next mass murderer. I think people making that claim need to come up with some actual evidence that showing a killers face, or using his name or whatever has actually inspired another murderer. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/262 "2012-07-21T18:25:48Z")
I am curious as to what may be on “inside video”…do theaters have lobby/door cams? I cannot imagine that they don’t. I’ve been in food for an LONG time and these days everybody but small “Mom and Pops” have some type of surveillance. Last Cafe I managed was in a building where the other occupant and my landlord was a bank. We had the best monitored parking lot in the area. (I know a Bakery/Cafe is not a movie theater!) Shooter supposedly dyed hair bright red. That would stand out on camera along with any of his swat gear he was wearing. Somebody noticed him going in! I know the victims and bystanders interviewed on Media are in shock but my golly, they pick some whack jobs to interview…over and over, the same people. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/263 "2012-07-21T18:30:57Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I’d be interested to know if it was actually an emergency exit door. I don’t know the design of that theater, but the Century I used to go to a lot was built as a stand-alone. Each theater has at least one, maybe two, exit doors at the front of the theater. These are not emergency exits but are meant to allow you to get from the theater to the parking lot without having to go through the mass of people caused by having 24 screens in a single building (this assumes you don’t need to get to the restroom.) I go to that one all the time - maybe every other week - and I was trying to rack my brain when I read this. I can’t remember. I think it really was an emergency exit, though, but not the type you use just so you can bypass the crowds. The theatre is big and not hard to get out of when a movie ends. The parking lot wraps around most of it but I’ve never used the side exits to get to my car. Maybe other people do, but I suppose we’re all trained to go through the lobby or side exit doors at the end of the main halls. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/264 "2012-07-21T18:33:24Z")
I saw a news story in the local paper that 50 people have called the local theater (here in South Carolina) they interviewed because they were concerned about safety at yesterday’s movie showings. WTF did these 50 people ASK on the phone? “Uh, do you have Bat-Masked-Gunman-Repellent-Spray available for guests?” “Is this guaranteed to be a gunplay-free showing?” What possible security questions could you have that the teenage kid who answers the phone at the AMC Googleplex can possibly answer to your satisfaction? Also, why is anybody interviewing the New York City police commissioner about this, and why does the New York City police commissioner think that the Joker has red hair? Even my dad knows the Joker has green hair. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/265 "2012-07-21T18:34:15Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Would it interest you to learn that there does appear to be a documented, witnessed, verified, heroic act by a member of the military? Maybe not how it interests you. It was shown at about 8am in the morning on CNN and it was basically…“Well we know there were probably military in the audience…it’s possible that one of them may have acted heroically, right? Stay tuned as we continue to cover this horrible tragedy and speculate glurge.” ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/266 "2012-07-21T18:34:21Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > It’s already the only place harder than a TSA line to sneak a bottle of water through. Funny thing is…yesterday I went to see the New DK movie, took in a bottle of Gatorade with 0% hassle. Also no apparent “heightened security”. I guess I could have answered my own question above if I would have looked for “lobby Cams”. Cat Woman rocked! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/267 "2012-07-21T18:39:17Z")
> [@oreally](#): > > PS anyone using this as a platform to rant/whine about gun control, religion, race, blah etc on either “side” I wouldn’t mind also seeing pushed off a cliff. When is there a better time to discuss gun control than when the consequences of opposing it are exposed so dramatically? At other times, it’s easy for opponents to withdraw behind the same old pretenses and the same old fantasies, and that makes them impossible to reach. But, on these not-so-rare occasions when reality breaks through those walls, that’s when you have a potentially teachable moment. Do note, for instance, the deafening quiet from the anti-gun-control faction about this latest in a long string of events. Eventually, we may get to the point where such events of mass murder by heretofore “law abiding citizens” are actually _prevented_. It may be the only way to get to that point. Why would you oppose that? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/268 "2012-07-21T18:43:24Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > When is there a better time to discuss gun control than when the consequences of opposing it are exposed so dramatically? I actually think that the immediate aftermath of a tragedy is a _horrible_ time to propose and discuss potential legislation. That’s how we wound up with the shitty PATRIOT Act. It’s hard to think rationally when you’re seeing dead bodies on TV and emotions are running high. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/269 "2012-07-21T18:48:11Z")
We’ve had all the rational thought we require already. Decades of it. See where it’s gotten us? To break through an emotion-based opposition, you \*need \*situations of high emotion. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/270 "2012-07-21T18:57:07Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > We’ve had all the rational thought we require already. Decades of it. See where it’s gotten us? > > To break through an emotion-based opposition, you \*need \*situations of high emotion. Disagree completely. What situation of high emotion led to the passing of the Affordable Care Act (which faced fairly heavy opposition, much of which was emotion-based)? Good laws get passed all the time without some precipitating incident. Passing laws quickly in the heat of the moment because everyone is upset about a tragedy is a bad idea and has great potential to lead to shitty laws being passed. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/271 "2012-07-21T19:04:35Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > What situation of high emotion led to the passing of the Affordable Care Act..? Ted Kennedy’s funeral. > [@](#): > > Passing laws quickly in the heat of the moment because everyone is upset about a tragedy is a bad idea and has great potential to lead to shitty laws being passed. Only if the laws are conceived and written hastily. That was definitely not the situation with ACA, and, after all these decades of consideration, would not be with a comprehensive and effective gun control law. Do you have a better idea for preventing mass murders? Or is that topic itself easily dismissed as too emotional? ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/272 "2012-07-21T19:08:46Z")
Well, it’s been a while since the Brady bill. Is a Batman bill next? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/273 "2012-07-21T19:14:24Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Do you have a better idea for preventing mass murders? Or is that topic itself easily dismissed as too emotional? I don’t think that mass murders are a common enough problem in our society that we have to come up with legislation specifically designed to prevent them, actually. They get a lot of press because they are very shocking, but they’re really pretty rare. Also, I know I kind of put you on the spot with my question about the ACA but seriously, suggesting that it was passed because as a nation we were overcome by our emotional grief about Ted Kennedy seems a bit silly. ---
**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 21, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/274 "2012-07-21T19:21:44Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I actually think that the immediate aftermath of a tragedy is a _horrible_ time to propose and discuss potential legislation. That’s how we wound up with the shitty PATRIOT Act. It’s hard to think rationally when you’re seeing dead bodies on TV and emotions are running high. Hear, hear. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/275 "2012-07-21T19:57:14Z")
> [@ThisSpaceForRent](#): > > Shooter supposedly dyed hair bright red. That would stand out on camera along with any of his swat gear he was wearing. Somebody noticed him going in! Most surveillance footage isn’t monitored in real-time, is it? On most police procedural shows I’ve watched, like “The First 48,” the police look at the footage after an incident has occurred. And a guy with bright red hair might get noticed, but people wouldn’t have a reason suspect him of anything. People walk around in the street with colored hair all of the time. Although they would certainly remember him after the shooting. Also, I don’t believe he wore his S.W.A.T. gear into the theater. I think it was in his car with his weapons and he put it on in the parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/276 "2012-07-21T21:24:16Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I don’t think that mass murders are a common enough problem in our society that we have to come up with legislation specifically designed to prevent them, actually. They get a lot of press because they are very shocking, but they’re really pretty rare. A. I’m so glad to hear you think there’s an acceptable incidence rate of mass murder in our society. Is your limit the current rate, or would you be willing to accept more? B. We don’t need legislation specifically against \*mass \*murder, because as you know, there are far more one-off ones that would also be prevented by a decent, effective, well-enforced gun control law like the rest of the civilized world. C. What are some of the things you think could go wrong if we stopped being an embarrassment to ourselves and actually followed through? Things that are worse than the current rate of mass murder, which you have just told is acceptable to you? :dubious: > [@](#): > > Also, I know I kind of put you on the spot with my question about the ACA but seriously, suggesting that it was passed because as a nation we were overcome by our emotional grief about Ted Kennedy seems a bit silly. You asked what emotional event finally \*precipitated \*passage, after an incredibly long gestation period. Well, that was it. It wasn’t because the forces of reason finally won out, but because the veneer of reason over the forces of opposition was revealed to be what it was, and because of the, yes, emotional desire of Kennedy’s fellow progressives to finish his life’s work. Not that you have to graciously accept an answer you didn’t think existed, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/277 "2012-07-21T21:43:54Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > $25 that an anti-comic book movement is born from this. > > :rolleyes::smack: And the bottom will fall out of the market in slightly soiled Betty and Veronica comics. ---
**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 21, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/278 "2012-07-21T22:41:50Z")
[The list of victims](http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/31292318/detail.html) is out. This continues to be a heart shattering ordeal for so many in the community. Particularly horrible is this one > [@Channel 7](#): > > **Veronica Moser-Sullivan** > > Veronica Moser-Sullivan was just 6 years old. > > Her great-aunt confirmed the death, calling the families “nightmare,” “surreal.” > > Veronica’s mother, Ashley, 25, was wounded in the attack and lies paralyzed in a nearby hospital, authorities said. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/279 "2012-07-21T22:50:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Channel 7 > Veronica Moser-Sullivan > > Veronica Moser-Sullivan was just 6 years old. > > Her great-aunt confirmed the death, calling the families “nightmare,” “surreal.” > > Veronica’s mother, Ashley, 25, was wounded in the attack and lies paralyzed in a nearby hospital, authorities said. The mother had just been accepted to medical school, per the Denver Post. Now she’s paralyzed. ---
**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, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835/280 "2012-07-21T23:47:37Z")
> [@oreally](#): > > Poster child for the warped perspective I’m talking about. Hilarious joke. Stay classy. Thank you. I’ll be here all weekend. Tips appreciated. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-people-shot-dead-at-batman-movie-screening-in-denver/628835.md?page=15)