Things are bad when you can’t even take your family to see a movie. It’s bad when this pastime is no longer safe.
Even the President of the United States has asked, “When will senseless violence end?”
The recent shooting in Aurora, Colorado is proof that America is still a long way from being able to reply “Now” to this question. A place where millions go for entertainment became a scene out of a war zone July 20.
One man’s actions took the lives of 12 people. including those too young to walk. When he opened fire during a showing of the latest Batman film, “Dark Knight Rises,” he wounded 58 people with 11 of these 58 being critically wounded, according to news reports.
The gunman was identified as 24-year-old James Holmes, who grew up in San Diego. Described as a quiet and intelligent youth, the graduate student used a military-style, semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and a pistol in the mass shooting incident July 20. Many people are still stunned by it and simply want an answer to one question: “Why?”
Why did he open fire in a movie theater? What moved him to take innocent lives at random?
As law enforcement organizations continue to investigate answers to these questions, the families and friends of victims mourn lost loved ones. Some movie theaters nationwide have heightened security in response to the recent incident.
Though Colorado is miles away from Minnesota, the scary reality is that it can happen here at any time. It makes people think about how safe they really are while viewing movies.
It also makes one think about what the world has become and if there will ever be a time when it will be free from violence.
One survivor was interviewed who offered her condolences to the other families affected. She also offered sympathy for the shooter’s family, too, as this no doubt is difficult for them as well, she said in an online Associated Press article.
It’s hard to read a newspaper or watch the news and observe the stories of victims without becoming emotional or responding in some way. As we hear their stories of loss and survival, let us keep them in our thoughts and prayers.