E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSWitnesses of Friday's deadly Colorado movie theater shootings describe what they saw.
Survivors of the Colorado movie theater shooting massacre say they initially thought the man dressed in black who entered through an emergency exit door was part of the premier of the new Batman movie.
"I thought it was a joke or part of the show," survivor Jennifer Seeger told TODAY. "He came in and threw in the gas can, and then I knew it was real."
The gunman shot and killed 12 people and wounded dozens more at the movie theater in Aurora, Colo., about 20 minutes into the movie. A man identified as James Eagan Holmes has been arrested in the case.
Seeger, 22, said she was sitting in the second row of the theater, and the shooting suspect was about five feet away from her when he entered.
Another survivor, Tanner Coon, 17, said he was at the showing with a friend and the friend’s 10-year-old brother, sitting in the fourth row from the back of the theater.
“I saw a tear gas can fly over the audience,” he said. “There was a loud bang and I saw a flash, and I just thought maybe fireworks, you know, people do that kind of stuff at midnight premiers, but I heard more flashes and I instantly knew those were gunshots.”
Another survivor, Corbin Dates, said he was inside the theater when the shooting started. He described the masked gunman, saying he first thought the shooting was “a stunt” for the movie.
“I thought it was for a thrill,” he said, “but then people are really, really screaming.”
After the suspect threw the gas cans in the air, Seeger said, he fired a shot toward the ceiling. She described the ensuing 20 minutes as “pure mass chaos” as the suspect turned his guns on the audience.
“He pointed the gun right at me," Seeger said. "I got terrified. I didn’t know what to do like a deer in headlights. At that point, I dove into the aisle, and curled up into a little ball and waited for him to go away. I got lucky because he didn't shoot me."
"But then he started to shoot people behind me, and the bullets started falling on my head," she said. "It was like burning my head because it was so fresh. I could smell gun powder."
At that point, Seeger said, she tried to think of an escape route.
"I was crawling, and I told my friend, I said, 'Once he gets up there, he goes up to the stairs, we’ve got to get out of here, we’ve got to get out of here,'" she said. "So we start crawling, we start crawling and everybody’s going for the door, and then everybody starts coming back in, they’re saying, ‘No, he’s going to shoot the people trying to get out of the door, and he did.'"
A surviving victim of the shooting, Virginia Beach native Marcus Weaver, told NBC affiliate WAVY.com in Portsmouth, Va., that when shots finally stopped long enough to make a run for it, the theater became "frantic."
Marcus Weaver holds up a bloodied shirt after he was injured during the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting, Friday, July 20, 2012.
Profile of the shooting suspect
12 shot dead at 'Dark Night Rises' screening
"When I was jumping over the seats to get to the exit, there were people trampling over people who were lying on the ground," Weaver said from his hospital bed in Aurora, Colo. "It was just the most horrific scene I have ever seen."
Weaver said he suffered two gunshot wounds to his right shoulder. He was treated on the scene and taken to the hospital. He was released Friday morning.
Meanwhile, trapped inside the panicking theater, Seeger said, the gas began to take effect.
"I was coughing, my eyes were tearing up," she said. "I was just scared and my adrenaline pumped in and I tried to get out. It felt like forever.”
"They said, 'This guy's coming back, he's going to shoot you, he's going to shoot you,'" she said. "So I just ran as an instinct."
Seeger said she remembered seeing a number of children in the audience as she fled the theater, including a 6-year-old who was shot and killed on the scene.
“I was trying to escape and there was a little girl, like 12 or 14, just laying lifeless on the stairs,” she said. “I didn’t know what to do. I was just completely distraught. There were dead bodies everywhere, there were people hurt everywhere, there was blood and guts everywhere.”
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Foundation repair business soars as drought hits homes
- 55 years ago, 6 stood under atomic bomb blast — on purpose
- Report: 'Lazy' summers may undermine military readiness
- Mortgage woes afflict high rate of active troops, veterans
- Is liberal Christianity signing its own death warrant?
- Zimmerman: 'I'm not a racist and I'm not a murderer'
- Video: Former cheerleader accused of sexual abuse speaks out
Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
The Feds will probably charge him as a terrorist, thus he'll be executed alot quicker than if was tried on the state level. OK City bomber and DC sniper were both done off with in less than ten years or so. Too bad it cannot be sooner.
Terrorist? Where do you get idiotic notion from? Get a brain.
I think you are the idiot here Rasputin. He IS a terrorist.
Terrorism generally refers to the use of violence to effect political change. There seems to be very little evidence that this is the case here. Unless, of course, by "terrorist" you mean "a very bad person."
You don't know what the evidence is and we don't know what the MO of this guy was. I might be political which would make hime a terrorist just like the Ft. Hood shooter IS.
He told the cops he's The Joker. Sounds apolitical to me.
So what happens when the guns are all gone? If people are using tree branches to kill each other should we cut down all of the trees? what if they use baseball bats? our founding Fathers had it right... I am not a Bible Thumping Republican BTW... or a liberal/over-reacting/overly sensitive apple toting hipster... I am just an american... and don't have a political agenda or check list to validate myself as a right or left winged fundamentalist... stop making this about your political affiliation and let the victims heal from this first before you put a political spin on it!
You are spinning the same phylosophy of the right wingers: if guns are gone people will kill with other things, like your ridiculous tree branches.
I'd like to see somebody going into a theater with a tree branch and kill 12 people and wound a bunch of others. Why do you people, and I think you are a GOP/PT right wing nut, keep spouting the same garbage when guns are mentioned as the real problem in this country? YOU CAN KILL WITH A KNIFE - YOU CAN KILL WITH A PEN - YOU CAN KILL WITH A SPOON!! Get a life and stop spewing so much ignorance.
If someone in that theater was carrying a pistol with a valid CHL there is a strong possibility that that gunman would have been dead before he shot up the place. Restricting people's right to carry in public places just means that we are all at the mercy of people like this. If someone wants to get a gun and go on a shooting rampage like this NO LAW is going to be able to stop him.
Really, how naive are you people. There is not a strong possibility that the gunman would have been dead. When he first showed up people thought it was a part of the show. By the time that they realized that it wasn't he had tossed the canisters of tear gas and had already started shooting. At this point people were running around panicking and the tear gas was permeating the air. It was a dark theater, he was wearing dark clothes, a kevlar vest and a helmet. To take him down would have taken a miraculous lucky shot. Even the best sharpshooter would think twice about trying to take a person down under those conditions. If someone would have attempted to take him down they most likely would have caused more injuries and possibly more deaths.
"If someone would have attempted to take him down they most likely would have caused more injuries and possibly more deaths."
Okay a strong possibility that this wacko would have not killed as many people. If someone where to have attempted to take him down the shooters attention would have been drawn to the other person shooting at him and many people that died might have survived. Just because you have body armor on doesn't mean your are invincible and it doesn't mean that the bullets just bounce off you and you don't feel it. It's like getting hit with a hammer....especially at the close range this was done.
If armed people have no chance of stopping the killers then why respond with armed police? Is an impossible task as you claim.
There is a vast number of people walking our streets that have engaged in firefights much worst than this. We call them soldiers. I can see one of them easily taking this punk out.
This morning on Fox (where else) I heard a "pundit" say that these things happen everywhere, and he mentioned Norway, where something like this happens every hundred years. Of course the effort to deflect attention from our obsession with guns and carnages that seem to be the special of the week or the month is obvious.
Instead of facing the reality of guns and massacres every fifteen days in our country, we begin to mention events in other parts of the world, as if to excuse the violence we see around us thanks to guns and the NRA crowd.
And of course this guy James Holmes proves what the right wingers are saying all the time: "These illegal immigrants and Muslims are the real culprits." With that name he must be a foreigner trying to destroy the american dream.
My condolences to all of the families of those who were injured and killed on this tragic night.
I advise that you please buy the #1 App for personal security: Click2BSure. Whether you are home alone, out late at night, being bullied, or feel like a stalker is nearby, Click2BSure provides the App that lets you get help fast with one click.
C2 Personal Security is the fastest way to contact Friends, Family, Security and 911. The App lets you call, text, and email an alert message to all of your contacts with the click of a button.
Visit the link for more information and to purchase for just $1.99:
app/click2bsure-emergency-alert/id434081583?mt=8
My hunch is that someone in the theater had knowledge that it was going to take place.
What else does your crystal ball tell you?
Rasputin,
Put a sock in it!
Yeah, shut up with all that critical thinking and common sense, hippie! There's folks here that have hunches!
We feed our children abhorrent visions of blood and gore and violence as family entertainment. They come to recognize that guns offer absolute power/control. Guns offer them (like the movie killer) easy access to a means of acting out their hatred of society when they fail in life. Why are we surprised at these atrocities? The more bullet holes in the forehead, amputations, etc.., the more movie tickets and violent games are sold. Violence has replaced creativity. Producers of movies like Batman couldn't care less about society. They just keep going to the bank.
This was trully a unessasarly tragic event.The truth is that this was a foreseeable event. Unfortunaty no one chose to take all the warning signs this young man was displaying as serious. Mental health issues could be hyped due to any amount of stresses, depression, sudden losse of a relationship or death etc. But what concerns me most is that he was able to purchas multiple amounts of armory without being flagged? These types of incidents have happened too many times in our recent history that new safety polocies for armory retail should be implemented to be more restrictive. My thoughts and prayers go to each and every family today who has been touched by this devastation and to the residents of Colorado.
Why was he able to buy all that weaponry? Ask they NRA, I'm sure they have a perfect and logical answer.
Has it been reported that these weapons were legally owned, Rasputin?
Two to the chest and one to the head would have stopped this vicious criminal.
He did not attempt to escape or resist the police, for fear he would have been shot. So obviously he values his own life, but not the other 15+ that he stopped??? this guy is not only mentally unstable, he's also a COWARD!!!
You have to admit, it would be better than any thrill ride they had been on. In many ways, these people are very lucky.
Well that's an absolutely revolting thing to say. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Not in the least bit. Come on, being in a place under attack, not knowing weather you were going to live or die, heart pumping, mind racing. You can't buy this kind of excitiment. I think it is you that should be ashamed of yourself. Your comment makes no sence. Why would I in the least be ashamed? On the contrary, I am proud of it.
Are you 12?
How did you know that, my wife been bragging again... Oh wait... my age... no... tad bit older than that.
Well you have the maturity of a 12 year old. "Excitement" and sheer abject terror are not the same thing. It is disgusting to suggest that someone should be grateful for having the opportunity to experience the horror that unfolded in that theater.
Dont even respond to this teenager. It's a waist of time.
Sorry for responding to Lev, but he seems to be under the impression that this would not be exciting at all, and a good story to tell the kids. I'm not really offened by maturity comment, (I know it's misplaced.) Clearly there is a misunderstanding of the situation. I really did not know their age though, just pointing out some facts.
The shooters behavior sounds just like the guy who was responsible for the Va Tech massacre.
Some famous last words heard in the theater while the movie played on.
Do you think that this kind of comment is cute or funny? It isn't.
No surprise in a state that allows decriminalization of illegal drugs. Truly sorry for the families and loved ones affected by this.
Is there any evidence that he had used any decriminalized illegal drugs? Any whatsoever?
Again just like you don't know WHAT the evidence is about the shooter possibly being a "terrorist".....you don't know if this guy was on drugs or not.
Precisely. My point in both instances is that BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW it is ridiculous to make comments that indicate that various scenarios are likely are probable (e.g. "He IS a terrorist"; "No surprise in a state that allows decriminalization of illegal drugs.")
Well we can at least call this guy one evil SOB regardless of his MO.....right?
Yes. What we can't-- or, rather, shouldn't-- do is make completely unsubstantiated assumptions about his motives.
Which shouldn't make a damn bit of difference in convicting this POS and putting him away for life and if possible he needs to face the death penalty.....although the would be far too humane and easy for him.
This is sad. There are no words that can express the heartfelt sorrow for the families of the victims and the surviving victims themselves. I can say what I would like to see done to this guy, but I will definitely refrain from doing so; as you would think that I am insane such as this guy has to be. 6 and 12 year old defenseless children whose lives are lost just because a guy who will be analyzed as being a man who had a disturbed childhood decided that he would just go and shoot up a theater in order to justify his sick mind. THIS IS SO AWFUL.
people on this message board is always so hostile. Even over the most innocent comments. chill the fvck out people
Who, what, why, when, how makes a news story.
So where's the rest of the why and how in this article? Why did he do it? How did they stop the shooting. How did the girl telling the written story get out, etc.
It's called "breaking news" for a reason. Have you ever considered the possibility that these details are not yet known?
Shooting people point-blank unchallenged for twenty minutes?? Where were the CCW holders? Unless you only need someone to draw a chalk outline around your corpse, don't wait for the police.
Does no one see a problem with the fact that a 4-month old and a 6-year old were at the movies in the middle of the night!?!?!? Why is no one addressing basic parenting issues as the fault. This kid was messed up in the head a long time ago - probably from his parents taking him to see an inappropriate movie in the middle of the night!
If you can't afford a babysitter - don't go to the movies!!!!!
Oh, some of us choose to raise our kids to be nocturnal. It just fits our family schedule better to be up during the night, and sleep during the day.
I agree. You have to be one pathetic parent to have a baby and a 6 year old at a midnight showing of movie that NEITHER should be watching....it's PG-13 not G.
******News Flash******
Gotham City News reports a man arrested in theater for yelling, "Lookout.....AK47", during screening of super hero movie.
That's not funny.
Why was the 6 year old at a midnight premiere??
one of the people interviewed said he was sitting up front
and the killer was sitting in the right front seat
when the killer got a phone call and went to the exit door to talk
so he didn't make noise talking or to make everyone that saw him believe this..
as the movie went on the guy giving his statement said he saw his foot keeping the exit door open.
could the killer have stuck it there to keep it open while he put on his armor from a bag her stashed there earlier?.
then he waited for a certain part of the movie to come on and he came through the door and threw something in the audience (gas) and then started shooting.
He could not have acted alone. He entered through an emergency exit. You cannot open the emergency door from the outside, someone had to open it from the inside and let him in. I heard an interview with a witness on NPR this morning, who said he heard someone's cell phone ring, the guy got up, went to the emergency exit, opened the door and stood there as if waiting for someone. Then all hell broke loose. He had an accomplice and the police need to make him squeal on who it is.
I hope they arrested the idiots who brought a 3 month old baby to that movie...People who do that are scum.
This is exactly why I carry a gun everywhere I go. I will not be the one hoping I am not next when a crazy person walks in shooting. That person will be next! Besides saving lives it will also save lots of money boarding this person in prison. Justice will never be done in this case. Sad.. Maybe the states need to rethink mental institutions.
Umm,
I'm just throwing this out there. I know people who will not leave the house at night with out a gun. When i ask they why, They tell me people do stupid stuff at night, and in the end its better them then me.