"Batman Massacre"

[Nekojin]

A press conference this morning listed his armament as follows:

Remington 870 Shotgun
Two Glock .40's
AR-15

Ignited 2 devices that released chemicals/smoke.

Ballistic Helmet
Balltstic Vest
Arms and Leg Protectors
Throat Protector
Gas Mask
Tactical Gloves

Dressed All in Black

71 people shot, 12 deceased.

[Nekojin]

The best we can do after the fact is to give him as little publicity as possible and negate, as much as we can, what it was he attempted to do, which was to co-opt the Batman publicity machine for his own purposes.

Which is why, despite his name and picture being plastered all over every news article about the event, I haven't mentioned his name here.

[TheHuckster]

Well that will just lead to people calling for Emergency exits to be alarmed up the wazoo and only be openable from the inside of course.

Every movie theater I've been to has rear exits that can only open from the inside. Obviously, the reason is to prevent people from easily just sneaking into a theater without paying for a ticket first. I wonder how this guy got in, because I can't imagine a theater that doesn't do that.

[Nekojin]

Every movie theater I've been to has rear exits that can only open from the inside. Obviously, the reason is to prevent people from easily just sneaking into a theater without paying for a ticket first. I wonder how this guy got in, because I can't imagine a theater that doesn't do that.

Like I said a few posts back, given how much he spent preparing for this, I can't see dropping $15 to get into the theater and prop open the door, then going out and getting his gear, being a particular obstacle.

[telecom_goddess]

Will they ban people from showing up in costumes for Public Events now? Hopefully not.

I've heard there is talk of just that happening. Even though this guy was NOT in a costume and costumes had nothing to do with it.

[Seifer]

And already this has been turned into a political/religious fight by certain people. There's even one congressman linking it to "ongoing attacks on Christian-Judeo beliefs". This is a tragedy, not an excuse for people to try and spout their beliefs. My thoughts to all those affected.

I didn't realize that Batman had become a Christian-Judeo religious symbol.

I was shocked when I heard the news about what happened. I don't understand how people so crazy can walk through life without being noticed until they do something horrific. You don't just wake up one day and decide to start shooting up a theater, so one can only wonder what kind of stuff the guy did in his daily life that could have tipped everyone off.

[Jetfire]

I've heard there is talk of just that happening. Even though this guy was NOT in a costume and costumes had nothing to do with it.

Actually.... Now they're saying he was dressed as the Joker and was calling himself as such.

[mikoyan29]

I'm on the fence about gun control and what not. I do not see how having other people armed would have helped. First of all, he was dressed in body armor, so if someone tried to shoot him, it probably wouldn't have helped. Second, unless the person in question is a trained police officer, he probably wouldn't react anyway. I remember ready studies about soldiers and how small of a percentage of them actually get involved in shooting. So if people that are trained to kill are hesistant, I can't imagine a civillian doing much better.

[Andara Bledin]

While it appears that someone at some point stated that the killer "painted his hair red and called himself the Joker," I'm not ready to accept that as true, yet. There's always a lot of mis-information and speculation taken as fact in the aftermath of such violence. It's worth noting that the Joker has green, not red hair, so that really wouldn't make any sense.

As for how he got in, it also says, "A federal law enforcement official said the suspect bought a ticket and went into the theatre as part of the crowd."

^-.-^

[Jetfire]

What's especially saddening, is that one of the victims had missed a mall shooting in Toronto earlier this year by mere minutes.

As another poster on another board put it, it was very "Final Destination"esque.

[Andara Bledin]

So if people that are trained to kill are hesistant, I can't imagine a civillian doing much better.

You don't have to imagine; civilians have done better. Not always, but it does happen, and sometimes it has the potential to save a lot of lives.

Oklahoma City incident
Salt Lake City incident
Seattle incident
Multiple incidents of armed citizens coming to the aid of law enforcement

This doesn't mean that most people don't just freeze up. One of the survivors of the attack did just that when the gun was first pointed at her, but she recovered enough to duck before the first shots were fired. I imagine that knowing that you aren't just another helpless victim might do a lot to help one find the fortitude to take action.

^-.-^

[telecom_goddess]

And the banning of costumes has begun:
AMC Banning Moviegoers In Costume As Security Beefs Up Nationwide/

[Andara Bledin]

Hopefully this is only a temporary measure to discourage copycats and not a long-term effect.

^-.-^

[Rageaholic]

I doubt (hope?) it doesn't go that far; even metal detectors would be too much IMO. Sometimes a tragedy is just a tragedy. It's good they'll be trying to figure out why he flipped out like he did and killed so many people; but trying to lock down theatres (and other entertainment complexes) much more than they currently are will just be a heavy blow to an already reeling industry. (As is the stock in various theatre companies was down after the tragedy).

My thoughts exactly. As tragic and frightening as this is, we don't need to go all out for what is likely an isolated incident. Every time something like this happens, the news makes a huge deal out of it and there are calls for more big brother practices to make people feel safe. For me, it actually has the opposite effect. They overblow something that is extremely unlikely and if happens, will not be as easy to prevent.

I know people like to feel in control, but we shouldn't have to live in fear of every possible situation just because the news are run by sensationalists.

[telecom_goddess]

I've already seen reports that police in this area are going to beef up security around movie theaters. I guess it is good to avoid a copycat crime...which I think is the biggest danger at this point.