The massacre in the city of Aurora

On Friday, July 20, 2012 , around 0:00 local time, the premiere of the final part of the trilogy of Christopher Nolan "The Dark Knight: Revival of a Legend " began at the Century Aurora 16 Movie Theater in Aurora , Colorado , USA . After about 40 minutes (about 0:39 local time) a man entered the hall through an emergency exit, wearing a SWAT uniform, a bulletproof vest and a gas mask. At first, those who watched the film did not pay attention to him, thinking that this was a figure for the entertainment of the audience ^[4] . However, the man threw a smoke bomb at the spectators or a grenade, and then opened at them indiscriminate fire from an AR-15 self-loading rifle. More than 70 spectators came under fire. At first, the criminal shot only the first rows of the audience, but then began shooting at those who tried to escape through the exits ^{[5] [6]} . However, soon the rifle got jammed due to problems with a 100-cartridge drum-type magazine ^{[7] [8]} that was non-standard for this type of weapon, and Holmes replaced it with a Remington 870 rifle (12 gauge) and a Glock 22 pistol ^[9] (caliber .40 ^[10] , with an enlarged magazine of 40 rounds ^[7] ). Several bullets struck a wall separating the next room where another movie was watching, and several spectators were also injured there. The police arrived at the scene 90 seconds after the first incoming call ^[11] at 0:41, she soon detained the gunman ^[12] .

As a result of the shooting on the spot, 10 people were killed, two more died in hospital. 59 people were taken to different hospitals of the city with gunshot wounds. The youngest of the injured is only three months old, and the oldest is 51 years old ^[13] .

• Jessica Gowie, 24 years old ( San Antonio , Texas , USA )
• John Thomas Larimer, 27 years old (Crystal Lake, Illinois , USA ) (US Navy Seaman stationed in Aurora)
• Matt McQuinn, 27 years old (St. Paris, Ohio , USA )
• Mikeila Medek, 23 years old ( Aurora , Colorado , USA )
• Alex Sullivan, 27 ( Aurora , Colorado , USA ) (died on his own birthday)
• Alex Tevez, 24 years old ( Aurora , Colorado , USA ) ^{[14] [15] [16] [17]}
• Alexander J. Boyk, 18 years old ( Aurora , Colorado , USA )
• Jesse Childress, 29 ( California , USA ) (US Army Sergeant) ^[18]
• Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6 years old ^[19]
• Rebecca Wingo, 32
• Jonathan Blank, 26 years old (US Army soldier, killed defending his girlfriend from bullets)
• Gordon Cowden, 51 years old ^[20]
• Jordan Morris, 31 years old

Police detained a crime suspect with a rifle and two pistols in the parking lot near the movie theater and established his identity. They turned out to be a 24-year-old local resident, James Holmes, who lived in the north of Orora ^[21] . What exactly prompted him to commit a massacre, is still unknown. The law enforcement agencies admit that a young person may have mental health problems. Also during the arrest, he stated that a bomb was in his apartment, and the police had to evacuate people from neighboring houses. Later, explosives were actually found in his house. According to one of the versions, the crime was caused by the fact that the shooter was angry because he could not buy a ticket for the premiere of the film ^[22] . However, this version was rejected by the police due to the fact that it was established that James Holmes entered the cinema with everyone, but just before the beginning of the movie he came out and returned through the back door with an arsenal of weapons and dressed as a SWAT employee ^[23] .

US President Barack Obama declared a five-day mourning period in the country, interrupted his election campaign and called an emergency meeting about the incident ^{[24] [25]} . The premiere in Paris, which the film director and main actors were to attend, was canceled due to the tragedy in Colorado ^[26] . The company also canceled the film premieres in Mexico and Japan ^[27] , and the advertising campaign in Finland was suspended ^[28] . The film's director, Christopher Nolan, expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy. On July 22, 2012, US President Barack Obama flew to Aurora, who met with the victims of the tragedy. Obama also met with local law enforcement officials investigating the crime. The president said to the assembled townspeople: “I did not come here as president, but as a father and a husband, I share tears with you, the whole country thinks about you.” ^[29] Obama's rival in the elections and the Republican candidate Mitt Romney also expressed his condolences to the relatives of the dead and wounded. On July 24, Aurora was visited by Christian Bale , who plays the role of Batman, who laid flowers at an improvised monument to the victims, created by local residents opposite the movie theater where the shooting took place ^[30] .

On July 22, 2012, the Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, asked presidential candidates Obama and Romney to clarify their position on tightening firearm control. Obama said he would not seek to tighten the laws on weapons and said he intends to fight crimes that are committed using weapons, relying on existing laws ^[31] . Mitt Romney also said on July 23 in an interview with CNBC television channel that he opposes toughening gun laws, as he considers this meaningless and violates the second amendment of the US Constitution, which allows citizens of the country to own firearms ^[32] .

The state’s own sales of weapons after the shooting increased by 41 percent. From July 21 to July 25, 3,647 applications for the purchase of weapons were received by gun shops, while four days before this crime - only 2,583 applications. At the same time, after July 20, buyers began to prefer not self-defense rifles, but pistols for self-defense ^[33] .

After the massacre, in several states, several people were detained, threatening to repeat the crime of Holmes in watching the same film in other cinemas in the country.

• On July 20, 2012 in the evening, in the state of Arizona , 27-year-old Mitchell Borboa, who was in a state of extreme intoxication, armed with two smoke bombs and wearing a gas mask, was detained by police while trying to watch a movie. However, his detention caused a panic, and more than 50 people left the audience hall ^[34] .
• On July 23, 2012, in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , USA , at around 3 p.m. local time, police officers detained an unknown young man for shouting “Guns!” To the entire audience, which caused a serious panic and almost disrupted the view ^[35] .
• July 24, 2012 in Los Angeles , California , USA , around 5:00 pm local time, for shouting “Does anyone have a weapon? I have to leave, as in Colorado! ”, The police officers detained 52-year-old Clark Taylor in the audience hall. The detention did not cause a panic ^[36] .
• In San Jose , California , USA, around 10:10 pm local time, police detained a 55-year-old man, whose identity was not disclosed, because he, with a cry of "Bomb!", Threw a black packet at the audience hall. Its action led to a huge panic, and more than 150 people left the building of the cinema ^[37] .
• August 4, 2012 in West Lake , Ohio , USA , around 22:00 local time, 37-year-old Scott Smith was detained while trying to enter the audience hall with a sports bag; In the bag was discovered 9-mm self-loading pistol with a full magazine of cartridges, for which the offender had no permission, as well as three knives of different sizes. The detention did not cause panic ^[38] .

•   Wikimedia Commons has media related to Massacre in Aurora