Recapping what we know about James Holmes
OK, we didn’t know much when we woke up this morning and discovered that James Holmes had shot more than 60 people at a movie showing in Aurora, CO just after midnight. But that didn’t stop ABC from tying the shooter to the TeaParty. Of course, they had to retract that claim because they found a guy whose name was the same as the shooters. A quick check of White Pages says they list 30 James Holmes in Colorado, so what are the odds? Apparently, they just “Googled” James Holmes+Tea Party to fit their perception.
The Army, certain that the media would speculate whether Holmes was a veteran or not, scanned their databases and determined that he is not one of theirs, says Spencer Ackermann;
The U.S. Army, concerned over speculation that the shooter might have been a veteran — and eager to stifle the meme of the psychotic veteran before it spread — felt compelled to email that a database check of the suspect resulted in “no evidence suggest[ing] this individual served in the Army.” Spokespeople for Buckley Air Force Base, near to Aurora, said servicemembers were among the wounded.
So the Left goes off and blames Rush Limbaugh for the shooter, because ya know everyone who listens to his show is just one command away from shooting up a theater, anyway. Another blogger claims that Holmes is a member of the Black Bloc.
None of the speculation changes the fact that more than 60 people have been shot, some of them are members of the military, and blaming any group or media source detracts from the fact that his guy is a nutjob, and he has no reasonable excuse for what he did and that he is solely responsible for what he did. And anyone taking advantage of this for their own personal or political gains are despicable.
ADDED: As an afterthought I checked AKO to see if the Army had any James Holmes and there are 34, one in Colorado, so I guess we’re lucky that the media doesn’t have access to AKO or we’d be hearing about the shooter being a veteran.
Category: Breaking News, Guns, Media
“And anyone taking advantage of this for their own personal or political gains are despicable.”
Amen to that….
The parade of GOs and colonels that started walking into the office at 0630 this morning, to a man, commented that they hoped he wasn’t military. So, the speculation here began as soon as the news broke.
Herpin the Derp while they’re Derping the Herp. Retards.
From EITHER side, Jonn.
I’ve got family (14-y/o nephew) in Aurora, and I’m sure my mother in Denver proper isn’t exactly going to be the calmest voice in trying to get any information from her. So now I’ve got to face the day not yet knowing if he’s okay, or how she’s holding up.
Whoever starts talking left this, right that, needs to be seriously dickpunched for being such a fuckin ritard. Prayers for the victims and their families.
Last night when I first heard this, Ill admit my first thought was “God please dont let this be a soldier.” My next thought was one of concern for my military family in the area. My thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.
And Im with you NHSparky, dickpunches for the ritards who want to play the blame game.
Yeah, Sparky…and there’s an Ace blogger that hasn’t heard from his kid who potentially could have been there as they have gone before. Yikes…saying a prayer for you, man!
My wife knows people who had planned to go there last night to watch the movie. We can’t get in touch with them. Again, Thanks for the comments Jonn. You are right. This is so unspeakable and wrong that ho words can describe it.
Too bad your blog doesn’t have a like button. Great points.
Same goes for people who are already using this as an excuse for call for gun control. One has nothing to do with another. Someone who’s off in the head enough to do something like this … he’s going to do it regardless of whatever laws exist. It’s not like guy would check his pocket legal manual and say, Well I was going to shoot up a movie theater but it says right here that I’m not allowed to buy guns so there goes that idea. If anything, this incident along with the 71 year old man who chased a couple of thugs out of an Internet cafe after firing on them would seem to show the importance of conceal-carry laws. But that is a conversation to have at some point in the future. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not while people are mourning.
I heard someone talking on the radio this morning about how to prevent this…simple you don’t. Crazies are going to do this, they will find a way. The thing is the sun came up and we are going on and people are still going to the movies, parks, shopping, etc… My prayers and wishes go out to the victims and their families. People trying to capitalize on this politically need to be death with accordingly. It seems to me that this guy is just a madman wanting his 15 minutes of fame no need to look any farther than that.
As I wrote on FB as I linked to here: Until we know MUCH more, the msm and armchair *experts* need to STFU. Period.
(Time another day for a discussion about moronic and LAZY reporters…)
What grabbed my heart was seeing that YouTube video of the scene showing movie goers exiting the cinema and then one of them – a little moviegoer dressed-up in Batman costume. Poor little Batman fan has his joy ruined and a lifetime of negative memories because of one flipped-out a**hole. Blessings to all those harmed mentally and physically.
Not to say this isn’t a horrific thing that happened, but I wonder where the national media has been this year involving Chicago. The death toll for this tragedy is what occurs on a weekend in Chicago. They have had over 500 murders this year, already. A couple weeks back, there were 20+ people killed over a weekend and they have the strictest gun laws in the country. The point is, as others have said, nutbars and criminals will do whatever they want to, because if they have a will to do it, they will do it and the law won’t stop them.
One of my current concerns is a copycat.
“But that didn’t stop ABC from tying the shooter to the TeaParty.” —
Not only THAT, but a Homicide Detective on the telephone, said:
“There are some reports that the guy was dressed in military outfit, military garb.”
(CNN, perhaps — I don’t recall)
And (Brian ??) on Fox & Friends, said: “Can you imagine — you go to the movies TO ESCAPE REALITY, and . . .” —
To read a book, is escape from reality ??
Then, what is reality ??
(ANY concept or abstraction or idea, is an “escape” from non-thinking, ANIMAL SENSATION — they imply. Accept ONLY your immediate environment, do not aspire further, do not imagine, consider the future, etc.)
#8 Radar, we DO have a Facebook “Like” button at the top of the post.
No. 16:
I used to hit the “Like” button a lot, until I discovered an “App” tied in to my Fa(r)cebook Page was used. Is it safe to use this particular Application ??
(I know, I should find out on my own — just ignore if I’m wasting your time.)
DR_BRETT: I have no idea, I’ve never “Liked” any of my posts – they all get loaded to my Wall automatically, but given the number of people who do “Like” them, I have to say “I guess so”.
I am returning to “Liking” many of This Ain’t Hell posts !!
(on this side, and, on your Facebook Page)
@ 16 Jonn, oops, attention to detail.
Paraphrasing a quote I saw on this elsewhere and why you can’t link these crazies to agendas and groups and shouldn’t try:
Mass shooting cases have the common motive of an attacker seeking immortality. Each of the attackers have different degrees of paranoia and resentment of the broader community. Some are so paranoid that they’re psychotic. Others are paranoid in a generally resentful way but have no significant psychiatric illness. The threshold that the mass shooter crosses is one in which he decides that his righteous indignation and entitlement to destroy is more important than the life of any random person that he might kill.
Basically, mentally unhinged.
I agree with some of the things Radar says, and in fact I have always felt that way towards these mass shooters.
What these mass shooters and killers basically want is their 15 minutes of infamy. We have become a world filled with people who want attention, and in this internet day and age, what better way to get notoriety than to commit a mass spree killing. Whatever gets your name in the history books. Sounds simple, but really, it doesn’t take a lot of psycho analysis or expertise to see through these people.
Just like that Norway killer, who smiles at every camera opportunity, and is putting on show after theatric show during his court appearances. Just like that Choi character in Virginia, not surprising he mailed pictures of himself posing with guns to news media outlets before going on his rampage. Not surprising this Colorado killer notified police his apartment was booby trapped. I guarantee this guy is going to be all smiles in court and put on a show for the media. Their egos need stroking.
That is what makes things like these scary. There is no rhyme or reason. Can’t always blame it on child abuse, PTSD, or whatever. It can be any ‘normal’ person who feels ‘wronged’ or ‘slighted,’ anyone who thinks they are not getting enough attention, can pick up guns and go seek their place in history.
That Good Morning America report on it was simply disgraceful
Screw the psycho hope he fries! By the way, did POTUS order all flags at Half Staff for the victims of the Ft Hood Shootings? He just did for this. I am not so sure I agree with that.
Better get them graduate students on the terror watch list….Oh I forgot, it’s the tea party and veterans that are the problem.
Answered my own question and yes is the answer.
I won’t judge (yet) but as a semi retired cop and retired Soldier, I still think that “good, honest, trained” citizens must be able to have CCW permits- one good shooter could have stopped this asshole in a minute.
Jeff Schogol sends the DoD press release. One sailor was wounded and another is still unaccounted for and two airmen were wounded.
@26 CI, you don’t need a gun to stop a shooter. There are plenty of other ways.
@28 Against a well-armed homicidal adversary who is standing at range, I’d be far happier with a gun by my side than trying to sneak up on him, counter his arms and jam a pen through his throat while he’s firing indiscriminately into a crowd.
I’m fairly liberal on many things, but CCW? Sign me up.
@29 — Ah, then you don’t know that dental floss makes a great trip wire and you can’t see it in the dark? Or that your knees will buckle if you’re hit from behind in the knees, whether you’re wearing leg armor or not? Or that a can of hair spray and a BIC lighter make a great blowtorch?
I didn’t say I’m against guns, just that there are other means. My kitchen drawers are full of lethal weapons.
I found out about this by a wake-up call from my son, who’s currently at Sheppard for tech school. Buckley did an accountability check on all personnel since this was so close to base and called him.
The adrenaline was pumping, not just because of the early call, but because I know my son is in the shift class and should have been sleeping, which he was, so I knew something must be wrong.
His first thought was that he can’t wait until he’s 21 so that he can get a CCW. Too bad the old man from the Internet Cafe wasn’t in the audience.
Just horrible and exactly why you need to protect yourself. The cops were right there and couldn’t do anything to stop him.
@30 In general, being aware of attack vectors and potential weapons is great, no question. In this particular situation -and I’d wager the vast majority of situations like this, where time is of the essence and there’s a crowd of potential victims- I think a trained person with a firearm is the best opportunity to save lives. He entered from an emergency exit in a theater, so it seems unlikely there was any angle from which to get behind him, and even if there was, doing so would take time – time during which other people were being shot.
I like to channel my inner MacGyver as much as the next guy, but most people don’t go to the movies with a can of hair-spray.
Now James Holmes is calling himself the Joker, per a report by the Aurora, CO, police.
Warner Brothers canceled the Paris screening of “Dark Knight Rises” earlier to day and is also considering canceling the entire release:
“The film rolled out on 3,700 screens for midnight Thursday screenings, and is set to be seen in a total of 4,404 theaters, with a record 332 Imax screens.
“The Dark Knight Rises ” is Warner Bros.’ biggest release of the year, thus far. It was expected by box office analysts to open between $170 million and $195 million. That would make it the best U.S. opening ever for a non-3D movie.
The film is also set to roll out on 6,765 screens overseas in 17 territories.”
10,000++ theaters world-wide. A huge audience of eager fans, and some jerk with a big bowl of angst in his gut has to have his 15 minutes?
Did I miss something?
My most darkly cynical/gallows humor moment has been that’s it’s too bad his Christian name wasn’t John, as then we’d have a discussion about the threat former pr0n stars present to the community.
BT
One of the most frustrating moments of watching the TV coverage has been the information ADHD present, and the well-noted tendency to report things even if there’s nothing to report, which sometimes, there isn’t. So either make up stuff or go with whatever last rumor/bit of data you heard, no matter how spurious/unvetted they are. I’ll bet they are sending everyone digging to find anything out.
It reminds me entirely too much of my time spent as a Battle Captain in the JOC of a non-operational unit in the ‘stan which had no battlefield authority or capability. Even if there was nothing for us to do, when something happened, we still were told to go out and find some information and report it up the Chain of Command just so we could appear involved. Didn’t matter how much we clogged the information channels by doing so-we needed to be “engaged and aware” of the situation.
Sometimes, we (as a society and a military) need to be willing to just step back and say, “We don’t know, give us some time and we’ll have an answer”.
Take a look at the collection of articles on this over at http://weaselzippers.us/ Amazing shit…emphasis on the ‘shit’ part.
@33 I had figured since it was a Batman movie, his crazy motivation would be as a “character” in Batman. Its unfortunate, but now are they going to blame Christian Bale? or maybe DC Comics? As was said, its not time to blame but they’re looking for blame which is crap. Its time to mourn and let the police investigate and come up with what his problem is.
I had a baseball coach named James Holmes in the 8-9 year old league.
Does anyone know anything about his whereabouts last night? No? Suspicious…
You’re right. The moment this story broke, some liberal in the newsroom immediately assigned a reporter to comb the internet for a Tea Party connection because that’s their preconceived notion.
Our sincere condolences go out to the families of the dead & wounded of this travesty.
street & Melony
out!
And so, Ben? Do you always poise a question then answer it before anyone else does? just saying….
@32, according to the police report, the shooter was wearing body armor, leg armor, groin armor and a gas mask. How would a gun have worked on that?
It wouldn’t. So one can try to not panic and come up with alternatives.
How agile is someone wearing that much gear? How much visibility do they have in a gas mask? As he was moving through the crowd, up the stairs, finding new targets, it would have been possible to get behind him. People were dying anyway; they might as well die trying to stop him.
You can never know what you would do. But I was struck by the reactions of the victims from the interviews I heard on the radio: take cover, play dead, get down, get away, get out. Our society trains us to duck and cover, to escape, to wait for someone to save us–and if that’s the best option, take it. But it’s NOT the only option.
When stress hits, you do not rise to the occasion–you fall to the level of your training. We do not train our service members to submit. I read that unarmed people in the PX tried to get to Hassan on Fort Hood. They died, but they at least tried.
@ #42 – Several throat or forehead shots would do the trick….that’d be for a reasoned, seasoned and trained individual….
I say forehead area because I have YET to see a gasmask that is bullet proof
Eh, Sig? The Hood shooting didn’t occur in a PX…
@streetsweeper, the report also says he was wearing a throat protector. Sorry I forgot to include that. But it’s the reason I said use alternatives if you have them.
Apparently, there is an inventory list of what he purchased that a CNN reporter got his hands on.
I think people forget that body armorial isn’t a force field…..it still hurts….A LOT. Most cases will still cause serious damage. If his Dick flap (pee napkin) or throat protecter (sweat collecter) were hit by small arms fire he would still drop to the floor.
I didn’t see him or his body armor but I guess he could have been like the Hollywood shootout guys and just had steel incasing his body.
Anyways it is just a sad and maddening event only made worse by journalists with a huge lack of journalism integrity as well as politicians with no use of tact or simple human decency.
God bless the victims and I hope the ones that can be saved have or will be saved. My prayers go out to the families of the victims.
Former Ph.D. student in neuro science at University of Colorado medical center to possibly biggest mass shooter in U.S. history? Profiles Division of FBI must be scrambling.
@46: Sorry, was apparently smoking crack. Point stands, though. From The All-Knowing Wiki:
Army reserve Captain John Gaffaney attempted to stop Hasan by charging him, but was mortally wounded before he could reach him.[21] Civilian physician assistant Michael Cahill also tried to charge Hasan with a chair, but was shot and killed.[22] Army reserve Specialist Logan Burnette tried to stop Hasan by throwing a folding table at him, but he was shot in the left hip, fell down, and crawled to a nearby cubicle.[23]
I carry concealed every single day. Had I been faced with this situation, my gun would have stayed in its holster. Amid all of that confusion, the dark, smoke/tear gas shooting at the gunman is not a good idea. That is unless you were right next to him and could have screwed the muzzle into his ear before touching off a round. When you carry concealed you have a duty and a responsibility to do so safely. That doesnt mean that Im a coward, by no means am I afraid to have to shoot someone BUT I do not want to accidentally shoot anyone.