Aurora Colo tradgedy

[Silverbullet]

Are we so used to things like the Aurora killings that we no longer comment on them?

I have been following events as much as I can. This guy does NOT fit the profile of a loner killer. something just doesn't fit.

SB

[Distracted]

I think the real reason is that at least some of us come here to get away from the harsh realities of life.

[CX]

I get my fill of this kind of stuff at Wordforge. If you're really that curious, though, I think this might be another case like Charles Whitman, and I wonder if the guy had a brain tumor.

[putaro]

Well, WG was so excited about going to see the movie that I didn't want to bring up anything that would spoil it for her.

[Alelou]

Honestly, what can we say (at least without getting into political issues we'd never ever agree about)? It was just unspeakable.

Thank goodness they caught the awful man, at least. I wish the media would downplay him. It no doubt feeds his sick mind to be getting all this attention, and it encourages the other sickos out there to start thinking about their options for grabbing the spotlight.

[WarpGirl]

Well, WG was so excited about going to see the movie that I didn't want to bring up anything that would spoil it for her.

What happened was horrific! No question, but that man either sick (or just plain old evil) shouldn't have the power to turn other innocent people into victims of fear, anger, and hate. I had a truly wonderful time at the movie with my parents, and I'm proud of that. I just hope that the people hurt (physically and emotionally) get the help they need! I truly doubt they'd begrudge any of us the right to go to the movies and have fun with our families.

[Cogito]

I think the real reason is that at least some of us come here to get away from the harsh realities of life.

Ain't that the truth.

[Weeble]

Quite frankly I can't imagine any plausible explanation for this heinous act. pray for the families, and for the wounded, hopefully all of them will survive.

[Silverbullet]

We have an idiot here by the name of Pearce who thinks that someone should have stood upand shoit out wiht that guy. Of course in colorado people aren't as armed as they are here in Arizona. One can carry concealed without a permit. Everyone has a right to own as much armament as they want. so, if it had happened in Arizona pearce believes that the patrons of the film should have started shooting. wonderful

SB

[Distracted]

In all likelihood the shooter is mentally ill, probably a high-functioning paranoid schizophrenic. Given the premeditated nature of his actions and the fact that he was dressed in riot gear complete with body and extremity armor and a helmet with a face guard, it's unlikely that a civilian without military training would have even known where to shoot to incapacitate him, much less be armed with a weapon capable of doing the job. But if a member of the military or police force familiar with the vulnerable points of riot gear had been armed and present in the theater, fewer people would be dead. That's an inescapable conclusion. I'm not advocating a military presence in movie theaters. I'm just pointing out that fact.

Although no one can predict what someone suffering from psychosis will do, at several points this man could have been stopped.
1. Riot gear purchases from the manufacturer should be limited to registered police officers and military personnel. Somebody sold this guy gear on Ebay or something without checking credentials (or without caring about them). There's no reason a civilian would need riot gear.
2. A gun purchase should require a waiting period for a background check. Maybe he had one and nothing came up, but it seems to me that someone capable of mass murder has to have something in his past history that would raise a red flag. Somebody dropped the ball on that, maybe in a private sale which doesn't technically have to follow all those rules, but I still consider whoever sold him the gun to be responsible. Even if he looked innocent as a newborn baby, who would sell all that stuff to a civilian? Don't tell me that somebody didn't notice he was stockpiling weapons, ammo, and urban armor. People ignored the risk and sold it to him anyway. The wanted money more than they wanted to get involved.
3. And either someone let the guy in through the fire exit or he sabotaged it earlier and no one checked the fire exits before the movie started to make sure that no one could enter the theater that way. The theater staff should have been checking the emergency exits after each feature. He never should have made it as far as he did.

[WarpGirl]

The ironic thing is that the movie itself and The Dark Knight before it, has major themes about the good in people, during times of madness, chaos, and evil. This man, either evil, insane, or both is getting all of the attention, but what about the people who tried to save lives that night? I'm not talking about the police or paramedics (although they should be praised to the skys) but the ordinary people who tried to help protect others. Nope, the only story I heard was a young couple, where the young man shielded his girlfriend. It seems to me that people would be more inspired to do good to their fellow man if it was celebrated more than focusing on the man who did this.

The movie is terrific! So are the messages in the whole trilogy.

[putaro]

I wish the media would downplay him. It no doubt feeds his sick mind to be getting all this attention, and it encourages the other sickos out there to start thinking about their options for grabbing the spotlight.

Japan has the death penalty and gun control and we still get our share of whackos. There was one a while back who killed some people and he said that his goal was to get the death penalty. What can you do about that??? (They gave it to him, btw, and he was hung by the neck until dead).

[Kotik]

There is no absolute safety. A country can have draconic weapon laws (like Germany has) and you still have maniacs running Amok. Several Columbine-style killing spree's have happened in Germany over the last few years. As harsh as it sounds, but being killed by a psychpath is as much a part of life's risks as the danger of being run over by a drunken car driver, especially in a country, where people my legally assemble a lethal stash of war weapons at home.

In Germany there are only two ways to acquire a gun legally. You are either a professional hunter or a registered shooting sportsman. In both cases you have to provide a gouvernment registration as a first step. The second step is a thourough psychological examination and background check. If you have a previous history of depression or other mental illnesses, you're out. If they find even the slightest irregularity, you won't get a permit. Only if you passed all these checks, you'll get a weapons permit and that is restricted to the weapons you need for the job. The huntsman won't be allowed to by a pistol, only rifles that are fit for hunting and a sportsman shooter won't be able to buy a rifle if he's registered as a pistol shootist. Automatic and semi-aútomatic weapons cannot be legally purchased at all.

Guess what? This still didn't stop several amok killers. One of them was the son of a hunter, so he used the weapon that his father owned legally, to kill a dozen kids. Another one had purchased an AK-47 on the black market (illegally of course). So, although Germany did its utmost to make it hard to get a weapon, it is still possible. Germany once tried to clamp down on the mentally sick. They were locked away and euthanized. Not only didn't it do much for our image throughout the world, they also missed the biggest whacko's at the time. One of them went by the name of Adolf Hitler. So that doesn't help either.

So, long story short, there simply is no way to stop things like these from happening. All the government can do is to make it as hard as possible for the sicko's to get weapons and gear.

[Alelou]

So, long story short, there simply is no way to stop things like these from happening. All the government can do is to make it as hard as possible for the sicko's to get weapons and gear.

Won't happen here. The NRA has US politicians terrified of so much as squeaking about any limits on gun ownership unless they are independently wealthy and live in bastions of liberalism (like Bloomberg does in NYC). Of course, he did manage to purchase accessories that were illegal, so he might not have been stopped by any limits anyway.

I don't think this guy would have shown up on any background check. How would he be distinguishable from someone like, say, Elessar, other than in the pace of his gun acquisition? Perhaps his schizophrenia has just blossomed recently.

Where did he get the money for all this? It must have cost a fortune. You'd think that being able to track a bunch of purchases like this could help stop all kinds of attacks -- from terrorists and criminals as well as lone wolf nuts. Of course, even when we're tracking them we can't always stop them. The guns in the notorious "Fast and Furious" case were being tracked, but the prosecutor in Arizona continually refused to bring an indictment, saying he couldn't prove anything illegal was going on. And according to Arizona law, he was quite possibly right.

[Kotik]

Well there's the dilemma. Nobody wants to live in a George Orwellian 1984 state, so you'll never know what people buy and with which money. I don't know about the US of Americaland, but there are several stopgaps in European and/or national laws. Any financial transfer over a certain size has to be reported to the government. (IIRC, any intra-european transfer over 12.000 Euros). Even with a weapons permit, each purchase has to be reported by the dealer, even if the customer has a valid weapons permit.

As I said, not even these stringent laws don't prevent it, but they may have spared us a couple of potential amok-runs.