http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/07/...-of-theater-shooting-released/#at_pco=cfd-1.0 Jessica Ghawi, 24 Veronica Moser Sullivan, 6 John Thomas, 27 Alexander J. Boik, 18 Jesse E. Childress, 29 Johnathan T. Blunk, 26 Alex M. Sullivan, 27 Micayla C. Medek, 23 Matthew R. McQuinn, 27 Alexander C. Teves, 24 Rebecca Ann Wingo, 32 Robert W. cowden My church & I prayed for the families and victims of this senseless tragedy, yesterday and today. The picture of 6 year old Veronica Sullivan brought tears to my eyes. Her mother is still in intensive care asking about her daughter, but still hasn't been told about her tragic passing. Seeing the faces of these mostly young victims puts the human element into our debates and discussions regarding the shooting, scoring political points and gun laws. What punishment does a person that commits such a crime deserve? I just read...'Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers said Monday her office is considering pursuing the death penalty against Holmes. She said a decision will be made in consultation with victims' families.' Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2120218,00.html#ixzz21SdyzjJn Rest in Peace.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/07/22/colorado-movie-theater-shooting-remembering-the-victims/ Ten victims in Friday’s massacre were killed in the theater, and another two were later pronounced dead from injuries. All victims’ names have been released, and their friends and families have shared memories and reflections. Jonathan Blunk, 26 Blunk, a Navy veteran, was also a certified firefighter and an emergency medical technician. He served three tours in the Middle East between 2004 and 2009 and hoped to one day become a Navy SEAL. He attended Friday’s movie with his friend, Jansen Young, who told TODAY that he took a bullet for her and saved her life. Another friend, James Gill, told the Associated Press that if Blunk were “going to choose a way to die, that’s how he wanted to go — defending someone from a (person) like that.” Blunk leaves behind his estranged wife and two young children. Alexander Boik, 18 Known as AJ, Boik graduated this year from Gateway High School in Aurora. He had plans to study art and design in college and eventually become an art teacher. Boik’s friend, Jordan Crofter, described him as “a ball of joy” who “wanted everybody to be happy.” He attended the movie with his girlfriend, who survived the attack but hasn’t been identified. “If he were still here, he’d try to make everyone have a positive outlook of the situation,” Crofter told the Associated Press, “and not allow it to affect their outlook of life.” Jesse Childress, 29 An Air Force cyber-systems operator, Childress was based at Colorado‘s Buckley Air Force Base. He suffered from gunshot wounds at the theater and died at the hospital Friday. Air Force Capt. Andrew Williams described the Air Force reservist as “knowledgeable, experienced and respectful.” A co-worker, Ashley Wassinger, said Childress “was a great person fun to be with, always positive and laughing.” Gordon Cowden, 51 Cowden, who attended the film screening with his two teenage children, was the oldest of the 12 victims killed in the shooting. “A quick witted world traveler with a keen sense of humor, he will be remembered for his devotion to his children and for always trying his best to do the right thing, no matter the obstacle,” his family told the Associated Press. Though he lived in Aurora, his family described him as “a true Texas gentleman.” Jessica Ghawi, 24 A young sports broadcaster and blogger, Ghawi had narrowly escaped a mass shooting at a Toronto mall just last month. In a blog entry about that incident, she’d written, “I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath.” She was an avid social media user, and had posted enthusiastic tweets about The Dark Knight Rises just minutes before the shooting. Colleagues and friends described Ghawi, who also went by the surname Redfield, as ambitious, hardworking and witty. John Larimer, 27 Petty Officer Third Class John Larimer served as a cryptologic technician in the Navy after enlisting just over a year ago. The youngest of five siblings, Larimer grew up in suburban Chicago, where neighbors fondly recalled his sense of humor. He attended the movie with another sailor, who was injured but survived. “A valued member of our Navy team, he will be missed by all who knew him,” said Cmdr. Jeffrey Jakuboski, his commanding officer, in a statement. Matt McQuinn, 27 McQuinn died attempting to shield his girlfriend, Samantha Yowler, from the gunfire. She was shot in the knee but is recovering, her family attorney said. Also present at the theater was Yowler’s brother, Nick, who also attempted to shield her from the bullets, but was not injured. Both families thanked everyone for their love and prayers, but have declined talking to the media. Micayla Medek, 23 Medek lived in the Denver suburb of Westminster and had attended Aurora Community College. Family members said the news of her death was “heartbreaking.” Her aunt, Jenny Zakovich, said she was a huge Green Bay Packers fan. Medek graduated from William C. Hinkley High School in Aurora. Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6 The youngest of the victims, Moser-Sullivan sat beside her mother, Ashley, who remains in critical condition with gunshot wounds to the neck and abdomen. Drifting in and out of consciousness, she has yet to learn the news about her daughter’s death, the Associated Press reports. The 6-year-old had just learned to swim and was a “great little girl, excited about life,” said her great aunt, Annie Dalton. Alex Sullivan, 27 Sullivan attended the midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises to celebrate his 27th birthday. “Alex was a gentle giant, known and loved by so many,” his family said in a statement. “He always had a glowing smile on his face and he made friends with everyone.” Sullivan was also gearing up to celebrate his first wedding anniversary. Shelly Fradkin, whose son was Sullivan’s close friend, said they spent an “excruciating day” trying to track him down before learning of his death. “Our hearts are broken, and we’re crushed,” she said. Alexander Teves, 24 A native of Phoenix, Teves earned a master’s in counseling psychology in June from the University of Denver. His grandfather, Carlo Iacovelli, described him as a lovable guy who had many friends. He said Teves had plans to become a psychiatrist in the future. Iacovelli also described him as the “ideal grandson” who was “a fun guy” and “had a lot to look forward to.” Rebecca Ann Wingo, 32 Originally from Texas, Wingo, a mother of two daughters, resided in Aurora. She attended Aurora Community College and worked at Joe’s Crab Shack, the Denver Post reported. “I lost my daughter yesterday to a mad man, my grief right now is inconsolable, I hear she died instantly, without pain, however the pain is unbearable,” wrote her father, Steve Hernandez, in a Facebook post. Wingo’s friend, Gail Riffle, described her as “a gentle, sweet, beautiful soul.”
Why would you take a kid or baby to the opening night of anything... not thatit's their fault they got shot... but it's the parent's fault they were in a place where they shouldn't be at that age.
Very sad, and even more so when you see the faces of the people and not just a number. What a disgusting person to commit such an especially senseless murder.
As a father of an 8 year old going through chemotherapy, seeing the picture of 6 year old Veronica hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest. Although I usually fight off the tears, I'm man enough to admit that I shed a tear when reading this article.
If they execute that barbaric murderer, the brain should immediately be sent to a lab for full analysis. This killing spree was so senseless that it's hard for me to believe that it was purely based on hate. We really need to see wtf was wrong with this guy through science. Maybe it can help prevent future atrocities like this one. Also, I recommend mods move this to Hangout before D&D monkeys start flinging poo at one another and mess this thread up.
As saddening as this tragedy is I found myself proud as a man that most of those Male victims died shielding others. Self sacrifice....glad there are people in this crazy world that think of others first.
Where's the post about the 13 people who just died in a car crash? What about people who die daily across the country to senseless violence similar to what was seen in Aurora? Why do people pick and choose who to focus their attention on unless they personally know the victims? I'll never understand such preferences. It was awful what happened to these 12 people and everyone else who was injured. I can't imagine their pain, grief, and terror. I hope I never have to imagine it. That said, the choice of media and everyone around the country to sensationalize a tragedy like this is part of the reason it happens. The murderer becomes an icon for other sociopaths/psychopaths to aspire to as the media follows every detail of his case and every detail of his life. If you want to reduce how often stuff like this happens, don't give it any more attention than any other daily tragedy that happens across the country.
Thousands of people die every day from all sorts of things. In the time that I write this I wouldn't be surprised if several have died from malnutrition, disease, shot in Syria or some other country and old age. That said a mass shooting is something that is unusual and is news worthy in terms of coverage. It is an important event that has implications for things like mental health, access to weapons, and security in public places in our society. I agree that perhaps such events should be reported differently but I don't think that we should just ignore or downplay such events.
I suppose my point isn't to downplay it, but instead caution people when playing it up too much. Sorry if the former came through more than the latter.
There was outrage when those 18 immigrants died in a trailer like 10 years ago. Most didn't have documentation so how do you expect them to run stories about them? Another thing is you link doesn't even have a difinative reason why they were in the truck or why they crashed. They focus attention on the Victims in the Colorado case like they do for any act of Terrorism. Don't get confused, this was domestic terrorism. The crash was an ACCIDENT. Good take. You should have stayed here. Brilliant idea! Haven't heard this one before! Point is that people WANT to know as much information as possible about the suspect. They want to know WHY? Why would someone do this? You can't just deny people information.
I was thinking the same thing. I would be furious if a 3 month old started crying during a movie premiere. That's besides the point though, this was such a senseless crime, I hope they give him life without parole. I don't like the death penalty, unless you sit on death row for 30 years. I want you to reflect on your punishment, not just disappear and never have to fully accept responsibility. I had a 2 friends just move to Denver. I expected them to see the midnight showing, so glad they were at different theaters.
Hah. This is my typical Internet moniker. Consistency. A friend suggested the name to me before I started playing WoW about 7 or 8 years ago because I wanted to play a Warlock and Warlocks sucked in vanilla WoW... it stuck.
I hope the churches are praying that we start having serious gun control so that we don't have so many innocents killed by gun violence. Jesus would not approve of a society that allowed this just in the name of gun company profits-- or even the false god of a man made document called a constitution that some folks believe requires lots of high powered assault weapons to be readily available.
Sorry, the use of the state's guns to "stop" guns has nothing to do with the message of Jesus Christ. Socialists are sick people.
Good thing I wasn't one of the cops who stopped the shooter. I would have put a bullet through his head.
