12 Dead in Colorado Movie Theater Shooting

6 Comments

1. 

   Oui on July 20, 2012 at 2:39 pm

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   Appears to be a loner and very similar to the case of the Arizona shooting of Senator Giffords and in The Netherlands a mall shooting in 2011, nephew of a retired Army General. All perpetrators had mental problems, nevertheless were licensed to possess arms and recently dropped out of school. Also an issue with their fundamental religious rearing played a role.

   Shooting suspect went to S.D. high school

   SAN DIEGO — A 24-year-old man suspected of firing into a crowded Colorado movie theater late Thursday, killing 12 and wounding 38 others, graduated from Westview High School in San Diego, near the Rancho Peñasquitos home where his parents still live.

   Suspected shooter James Holmes graduated from the high school in Torrey Highlands in 2006, then earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of California, Riverside, school officials said.

   Holmes enrolled at the University of Colorado Medical School as a neuroscience graduate student in June 2011 but was in the process of withdrawing from university, college officials said.

   Tom Mai, a next-door neighbor of the Holmes family, said he has known the family since they moved to the community about 10 years ago. Mai, a Vietnamese immigrant, has lived there for 30 years. He said that he remembered Holmes as a shy teenager, kind of a loner, who did not play or socialize with the neighborhood kids. He said he last saw him two years ago when he came home during summer recess from college.

   Biotechnology boot camp at Miramar College

   Claire Sampankanpanich, a third-year medical school student at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, spent a week working alongside James Holmes at a biotechnology boot camp at Miramar College shortly after graduation.

   She still has photos from the camp, she said, looking at them in disbelief. She remembered that he didn’t interface well with the rest of the students. He had just graduated from Westview, which was one of the region’s newest schools at the time and seemed proud of it, she said.

   “A lot of us didn’t get along very well with him,” Sampankanpanich said. “He didn’t talk to a lot of us, but when he did he was kind of a smart aleck. He didn’t want to work with any of us.”

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

2. 

   Oui on July 21, 2012 at 4:16 am

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   I still believe this guy has a mental health disorder. On the BBC a psychiatrist made a case for this in a very convincing way and I find similarities with two other shooting incidents. Highly intelligent but aware of his own mental disorder and therefore attracted to this field of study. That’s my take on this guy, his mother was aware of it. How is US society coping with mental health of its citizens?

   Study of Mental Health Disorders [Read: schizophrenic]

   (The Scientist) – A researcher at the University of Colorado School of Medicine Neuroscience program–where Holmes was a PhD candidate before recently deciding to drop out–fails to recall anything suspicious about the 24-year-old man.

   “He appeared to be a normal guy,” said a member of neuroscientist Nancy Zahniser`s lab. “I never heard him talk though,” he added. “Pretty quiet.”

   The researcher, who declined to give his name, said that Holmes was a rotational student, doing stints in different labs before settling in one to complete his PhD research. He noted that in March Holmes did a rotation in the lab of Mark Dell’Aqua, who studies the role of kinase/phosphatase signaling complexes in channel and transcription factor regulation associated with learning, memory, and mental health disorders. Calls to Dell’Aqua went unanswered, and a member of his lab directed this reporter to University of Colorado spokesperson Jacque Montgomery, whose voicemail inbox was full as of Friday (July 20) morning.

   “Dopamine plays an important role in the etiology of schizophrenia, and D2 class dopamine receptors are the best-established target of antipsychotic drugs.”

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

   • 

     Oui on July 21, 2012 at 1:12 pm

     .
     The two earlier cases I referenced, both shooters were indeed 24 years old. The 1966 shooter Whitman was an ex-Marine and 25 years of age. Only the Gifford shooter survived the incident.

     Shooting Spree Shopping Mall in The Netherlands

     The shooter was 24-year-old Tristan van der Vlis, who lived in an apartment complex in Alphen aan den Rijn with his parents. He had lived in Alphen since his childhood. According to the police, he was a member of a shooting association and possessed three firearms. He had a history of psychological and psychiatric problems, including paranoid schizophrenia; in 2006 he spent 10 days in a closed institution after attempting suicide. He tried to commit suicide at least twice in 2008.

     Punishing God

     His online behaviour shows that Mr Van der Vlis had a strong interest in shooting sprees, in which perpetrators kill at random. He also took a strong interest in religion, and grew increasingly angry at God because he was unable to reconcile suffering in the world with the concept of a benevolent God. In his psychotic state of mind, the only way to punish God was by hurting his creatures.

     Investigations Shooting Incident Alphen a/d Rijn

     Jared Lee Loughner

     (Wikipedia) – (born September 10, 1988) On May 25, 2011, Judge Burns ruled Loughner was then incompetent to stand trial. Court proceedings were suspended while Loughner, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, undergoes psychiatric treatment at the psychiatric wing of the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. On September 28, 2011, the judge reviewed whether he could understand the charges against him and could assist in his own defense. (Loughner’s lawyers unsuccessfully objected to him appearing at the hearing.) Loughner disrupted the court hearing with an outburst, and was carried from the court room. According to the New York Times, Loughner believes he succeeded in killing Giffords, and clashed with his lawyer when she informed him that the congresswoman had survived.

     • University of Texas tower massacre perpetrated by Charles Whitman in 1966
     • Psychiatric Evaluation Seung-Hui Cho In Virginia Tech massacre

     "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

3. 

   Oui on July 21, 2012 at 1:56 pm

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   “A FAST GUN, A HIGH-CAP MAGAZINE, and UNLIMITED AMMO”

   I agree on most of your comments and contribution. However, read my link to the mall shooting spree in The Netherlands. The perpetrator had an history of mental illness and received excellent treatment from the Dutch Health Services. The Dutch have a very tight control on firearms (70,000 permits – pop. 16 million), you just don’t easily get your hands on a firearm, rifle or handgun. Such an act of violence has NEVER happened before  in this country. A very similar story to the USA shooting sprees. In a mental state of paranoid schizophrenia apparently these intelligent persons make detailed plans and execute the plans with deadly precision. The do try to explain their deeds by leaving notes and messages behind.

   This guy was the nephew of a top Army General Arie van der Vlis and managed to get a gun license. The incident has been thoroughly investigated from the psychiatric shortcomings to the failure in gun licensing. Everything is well documented in Dutch society, however the file on how he got his gun license has gone missing!

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

4. 

   Oui on July 21, 2012 at 3:28 pm

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   “Somehow, the acclaimed student and quiet neighbor reached a point where he painted his hair red, called himself ‘The Joker’, the green-haired villain from the Batman movies.”

   “Dark Knight” Shooting Imitates Scene From 1986 Batman Comic Book

   (Pat Dollard) – The horrific shooting at the screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Colorado late last night bears eerie similarities to a scene in the 1986 comic Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. In the comic, a crazed, gun-toting loner walks into a movie theater and begins shooting it up, killing three in the process. The passage concludes with the media blaming Batman for inspiring the shooting, though he is not involved in the incident at all.

   Was the shooter imitating this scene from the comic? Maybe, although in the scene the shooter is portrayed as inspired by his disgust at pornography and heavy metal music.

   Evolution of the American Superhero genre, Loss of Innocence

   “Batman: The Dark Knight” as it was originally called is a turning point in the Batman myth and in the evolution of the American Superhero genre in general. The four issues that make up the complete story represent a break from kid-friendly tales of good vs evil to more ‘real world’ examinations of heroic mythology; its origins and its ramifications both personal and societal. Written by Frank Miller it sent shock waves through the comic book world that are still being felt today. Some critics decried the loss of innocence, others embraced it with a hearty “It’s about time!” But no one could ignore it.

   In ‘Dark Knight Rises’ shooting at Aurora theater, eerie echo of  seminal 1986 comic by Frank Miller

   • Loud “Techno Music” Possibly Used To Lure People To Booby-Trapped Apartment

   Cross-posted from BooMan’s fp story – The Guy Wanted to be The Joker

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

   • 

     Oui on July 21, 2012 at 3:57 pm

     .
     Can it get any weirder?

     Aurora Theater Shooter James Holmes’ AdultFriendFinder Account

     Sources at the website tell TMZ they have confirmed it was created by Holmes. We’re told they tracked the IP address back to Aurora, CO and the account info for the profile (such as the address and DOB) matched up with Holmes.

     "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."