Colorado Man Goes on Shooting Spree in Movie Theater

[David in FL]

Of course that isn't what happened. A guy using legally obtainable weapons (tear gas is legal in CO) killed a bunch of innocent people. There is no way of saying if reasonable gun control would have helped. Now I have no clue if he has the proper permits for his gun or not but so far I haven't seen anything to suggest the guy shouldn't have been able to buy a gun. He was a grad (or exgrad) student not some guy with a list a mile long of felonies. Calling him a criminal is a bit simplistic as so far he wasn't one until the spree started.  Obviously all of these comments are early on in the game.

Owning tear gas grenades is legal? Could you pls cite the source for that? Thks. We're not talking mace/pepper spray here.....

[David in FL]

And this isn't the old west anymore, so people think they would have shot this guy if they had their legally owned weapons is complete BULLSHIIT.

Why?

[dak4n6]

I'm not necessarily a gun control advocate, but I think that if someone else in the theater did have a gun, they would have ended up shooting more innocents in attempting to shoot the bad guy.

[x129]

A lot of articles have mentioned it and always google his your friend. One example: http://www.buy-pepper-spray-today.com/blog/tear-gas-colorado-movie-theater/  We have no clue exactly what the guy used (i.e was it even tear gas. Maybe it was just smoke). But you can also just google tear gas and see a ton of websites willing to sell you all sorts of devices. Obviously it is very useful when a gang of 12 black guys are trying to break into your house......

Originally Posted by David in FL

Owning tear gas grenades is legal? Could you pls cite the source for that? Thks.

We're not talking mace/pepper spray here.....

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by dak4n6

I'm not necessarily a gun control advocate, but I think that if someone else in the theater did have a gun, they would have ended up shooting more innocents in attempting to shoot the bad guy.

Exactly.  Bullets whizzing by your head in one direction?  Bad.  Many more bullets whizzing by your head in all different directions?  Worse.

[David in FL]

A lot of articles have mentioned it and always google his your friend. One example: [URL=http://www.buy-pepper-spray-today.com/blog/tear-gas-colorado-movie-theater/]http://www.buy-pepper-spray-today.com/blog/tear-gas-colorado-movie-theater/[/URL]  We have no clue exactly what the guy used (i.e was it even tear gas. Maybe it was just smoke). But you can also just google tear gas and see a ton of websites willing to sell you all sorts of devices. Obviously it is very useful when a gang of 12 black guys are trying to break into your house......

You said legal to posses. Just because someone will sell you something doesn't mean it's legal to posses. If it is legal to posses a tear gas grenade, I'd like to see the reference. I doubt it is though.

[David in FL]

I'm not necessarily a gun control advocate, but I think that if someone else in the theater did have a gun, they would have ended up shooting more innocents in attempting to shoot the bad guy.

And you base that on.........?

[bwdial]

Originally Posted by Motley01

I'll put my money on... the guy walked into a gun store just days before this. Exactly like the Virginia Tech shooter. Same profile too.

Tear gas is legal in CO? I didn't know that, that needs to change as well.

And this isn't the old west anymore, so people think they would have shot this guy if they had their legally owned weapons is complete BULLSHIIT.

Not if they are trained and know what they are doing.

Originally Posted by dak4n6

I'm not necessarily a gun control advocate, but I think that if someone else in the theater did have a gun, they would have ended up shooting more innocents in attempting to shoot the bad guy.

See above.

Originally Posted by x129

A lot of articles have mentioned it and always google his your friend. One example: http://www.buy-pepper-spray-today.com/blog/tear-gas-colorado-movie-theater/  We have no clue exactly what the guy used (i.e was it even tear gas. Maybe it was just smoke). But you can also just google tear gas and see a ton of websites willing to sell you all sorts of devices. Obviously it is very useful when a gang of 12 black guys are trying to break into your house......

Really?!?!

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Exactly.  Bullets whizzing by your head in one direction?  Bad.  Many more bullets whizzing by your head in all different directions?  Worse.

If it's some wanna-be gang-banger just spraying bullets from some cheap .25 semi-auto, then yes.  If it's an ex-Ranger with a 9mm, the only thing that could prevent a kill shot is the body-armor that the guy was wearing.

[x129]

Read the article I posted. At the bottom the list the relevant CO law.

Originally Posted by David in FL

You said legal to posses. Just because someone will sell you something doesn't mean it's legal to posses.

If it is legal to posses a tear gas grenade, I'd like to see the reference. I doubt it is though.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by bwdial

If it's some wanna-be gang-banger just spraying bullets from some cheap .25 semi-auto, then yes.  If it's an ex-Ranger with a 9mm, the only thing that could prevent a kill shot is the body-armor that the guy was wearing.

And the totally dark movie theater, that happens to be filled with tear gas now.  And the dozens of people running around in the chaos.  And the fact that the whole thing probably happened in a matter of seconds.

3wiggle had the right of it ... with him captured alive, maybe we can get more insight into the mind of a guy like this (and, thus prevent something happening again) rather than speculate, since these things usually end with a dead perpetrator and absolutely zero answers.

Maybe we won't learn anything other than it's just a crazy person, but maybe we will.

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

And the totally dark movie theater, that happens to be filled with tear gas now.  And the dozens of people running around in the chaos.  And the fact that the whole thing probably happened in a matter of seconds.

3wiggle had the right of it ... with him captured alive, maybe we can get more insight into the mind of a guy like this (and, thus prevent something happening again) rather than speculate, since these things usually end with a dead perpetrator and absolutely zero answers.

Maybe we won't learn anything other than it's just a crazy person, but maybe we will.

Hopefully the cattle prod up the bung approach yields some solid intel.

[bwdial]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

And the totally dark movie theater, that happens to be filled with tear gas now.  And the dozens of people running around in the chaos.  And the fact that the whole thing probably happened in a matter of seconds.

3wiggle had the right of it ... with him captured alive, maybe we can get more insight into the mind of a guy like this (and, thus prevent something happening again) rather than speculate, since these things usually end with a dead perpetrator and absolutely zero answers.

Maybe we won't learn anything other than it's just a crazy person, but maybe we will.

Quote:

Witnesses in the movie theater said Holmes saw smoke and heard gunshots that they thought were part of the movie until they saw Holmes standing in front of the screen, after entering from an emergency exit. Holmes methodically stalked the aisles of the theater, shooting people at random, as panicked movie-watchers in the packed auditorium tried to escape, witnesses said.

At one point the shooter exited the theater only to wait outside the doors and pick off patrons as they tried to exit, witness Jennifer Seeger told "Good Afternoon America."

Plenty of opportunity for a trained person with a firearm to end it.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by bwdial

Plenty of opportunity for a trained person with a firearm to end it.

OK, I will concede that it was apparently slower and more methodical than I had assumed.  So, yes, a trained person with a firearm might have had a chance to stop him before he killed 12 people.

Should they put a marshal in all moview theaters now like they do on airplanes?

One thing that won't surprise me is if they now ban costumes at the movies.  A lot of people were dressed up like Batman, etc, and at least one witness mentioned that she saw this guy and just assumed he was part of the show.

[newtogolf]

I'd have preferred the cops or someone else shot him dead.  You're not going to learn much, maybe he was bullied, felt alone, was depressed, had mental issues, who cares.  You're never going to prevent these psycho's from going on a killing spree when they snap.  We've had plenty of serial killers and mass murderers in custody and it hasn't prevented this from happening so not sure what insight this slime is going to provide that we don't already know.

Worst part about taking him alive is that the taxpayers of CO are going to have to pay $50,000+ a year to keep him in jail.   Would be justice in my book if him and Sandusky got to share a cell.

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

3wiggle had the right of it ... with him captured alive, maybe we can get more insight into the mind of a guy like this (and, thus prevent something happening again) rather than speculate, since these things usually end with a dead perpetrator and absolutely zero answers.

[x129]

I didn't think I needed to add a sarcasm tag about my comment but I probably overestimated the internet.

How many exRangers (or similiar) do you think were in the theatre? I am going to go with 0.  The average guy will be one that goes shooting a dozen times a year and pretty much has never fired a gun in a stressfull situation. I would be stunned if the people would outperform the police (20% hit ratio in most studies).

How come know one wishes that there was a kung-fu master in theatre that would have beaten the crap out of this guy?

Originally Posted by bwdial

Not if they are trained and know what they are doing.

See above.

Really?!?!

If it's some wanna-be gang-banger just spraying bullets from some cheap .25 semi-auto, then yes.  If it's an ex-Ranger with a 9mm, the only thing that could prevent a kill shot is the body-armor that the guy was wearing.

[darkhunter139]

I'll put my money on... the guy walked into a gun store just days before this. Exactly like the Virginia Tech shooter. Same profile too. Tear gas is legal in CO? I didn't know that, that needs to change as well. And this isn't the old west anymore, so people think they would have shot this guy if they had their legally owned weapons is complete BULLSHIIT.

First I want to say this is so sad an thoughts and prayers go out to the victims families. Second: Saying you want to outlaw guns completely is insane. I believe everyone should have the right to protect themselves from these kind of people. Yeah this guy got his gun legally but if guns were outlawed it would be open season for criminals with illegal guns, they would have no one to fear and law abiding citizens would not have the right to defend themselves with a legal weapon.

[Motley01]

OK this guy was very intelligent. He was going for his Masters in Neuroscience in California.

He also boobie trapped his apartment with some very sophisticated bombs, with trip wires and everything. The FBI still is trying to figure out how to get in.

And reports now, that he owned these guns legally.

And also, who in the world brings their 3 month old baby to godam movie at 12 am? Wow some people leave your babies at home. Very sad though.

[darkhunter139]

I'm not necessarily a gun control advocate, but I think that if someone else in the theater did have a gun, they would have ended up shooting more innocents in attempting to shoot the bad guy.

I disagree with this too. The guy was wearing a mask and was probably an easy to pick out. People would be running away from him so there probably would not be a lot of people right next to him. This guy was free to roam around the theatre for God knows how long shooting at people who couldn't shoot back. If someone had a gun and knew how to use it I think they could have brought him down.