News and Current Events - 2012

[fritzkep]

People in the audience might not have had sufficient firepower to penetrate his body armor.

And bullets would have had little effect on tear gas.

[killersmom]

With the way he covered himself, even a swat team would have had problems, Fritz. He had a throat guard (very few people would have thought of this), along with the helmet, gas mask and body armor. They still have not been able to get inside his apartment due to the booby traps.

[killersmom]

The Chief of police of Aurora had another news conference. The subject had bought 4 guns legally at 2 local sporting goods places, and bought (all over the internet) 3000 rounds of for the assault rifle, 300 rounds for the 12 gauge shotgun and 3000 rounds for the 40 caliber Glock pistols. He purchased multiple magazines, including a 100 round magazine, for the assault rifle. Even if it was a semiautomatic rifle, a magazine that size can get off 60 rounds per minute.

[janjo]

She even stated "I'm sure you have the right person".   What???

What kind of family is this?

kathy    

Isn't that the question though, Kathy?
We don't know what sort of family he came from, other than they seem well to do.
We know that Holmes was very bright and a medical student.
What caused him to do this, and to suddenly give up his studies?
Is he suffering from mental health difficulties?
Does he have narcissistic personality disorder?
Are his family on the other side of the country, in anyway responsible for his terrible deeds?
Lots of questions, and so far no answers.
I do know though that I am not responsible for my adult children's behaviour, and they are not responsible for mine.

[oilgun]

Jesus!  CNN is calling it "Massacre in Theatre Nine". Am I the only one who finds that offensive?

[killersmom]

Not at all, Oilgun. I often wonder at the media.

[doodler]

I hate the way the media makes this, and all disasters, into a way to get ratings and make money.  Brian Williams went to CO to do interviews, like no one else is qualified but him, and I know at least 1 major station is doing an hour-long report in primetime tonight.  I don't want to witness the misery of the victims up close, and the stations will do it for ratings.  I won't watch any of it.

I have seen what I need to see, I don't need to see any bloodstained shirts to know that it really happened.   I heard the story and don't feel the need to know any more about this guy. 

As for the victims, I'm very sorry for them and wish their families would be left alone, but already some family members have been interviewed.  I will never understand how people want to be on TV so bad that they will stand in front of a camera and answer inane questions from a slimy reporter after just losing someone to a random, senseless, violent death. 

I wish there wasn't such a market for this kind of thing, but their ratings will soar tonight.  I won't be adding to them.

Jesus!  CNN is calling it "Massacre in Theatre Nine". Am I the only one who finds that offensive?

What they said.

[brokebacktom]

Not at all, Oilgun. I often wonder at the media.

I agree. It's all about the money.

[morrobay]

She even stated "I'm sure you have the right person".   What???

What kind of family is this?

kathy    

First let me say that nothing excuses what this guy did.  Nothing excuses a massacre like this.  We know he’s guilty, he deserves the worst we can give him.

I don’t have direct knowledge of mental illness of this caliber, and since you obviously don’t either, maybe you shouldn’t be so quick to judge what you don’t know.  

if it was your son, this wouldn’t happen, you’d see to that, dammit!   As if the family was sitting back in their recliners waiting for this to happen, waiting to see their son on tv.  

Exactly how should they go about warning the public?  How would you handle a situation in which you knew your son had the potential to be violent?  The family can’t force a man of 24 to be in a mental institution, and neither can society, until the worst happens.
  
Would you go to the cops?  And say what?  Cops can’t react until a crime is committed.  

Maybe the family never took him to a doctor, never admitted he had a problem, shoved it all under the rug, ignored his madness.  Maybe he didn’t show his madness.

So what kind of family is this?  

There are too many questions and no answers yet.

[janjo]

First let me say that nothing excuses what this guy did.  Nothing excuses a massacre like this.  We know he’s guilty, he deserves the worst we can give him.

I don’t have direct knowledge of mental illness of this caliber, and since you obviously don’t either, maybe you shouldn’t be so quick to judge what you don’t know.  

The cute little mad-face icon you chose is offensive in a situation like this;  as if you are just so mad you’re going to stomp your feet; if it was your son, this wouldn’t happen, you’d see to that, dammit!   As if the family was sitting back in their recliners waiting for this to happen, waiting to see their son on tv.  

Exactly how should they go about warning the public?  How would you handle a situation in which you knew your son had the potential to be violent?  The family can’t force a man of 24 to be in a mental institution, and neither can society, until the worst happens.
  
Would you go to the cops?  And say what?  Cops can’t react until a crime is committed.  

Maybe the family never took him to a doctor, never admitted he had a problem, shoved it all under the rug, ignored his madness.  Maybe he didn’t show his madness.

So what kind of family is this?  

There are too many questions and no answers yet.

The family were thousands of miles away. Maybe he just stopped phoning and visiting.
Why does a Phd student suddenly behave like this?
Schizophrenia, Bi-Polar disorder, Personality Disorder, a Psychotic episode?
It certainly isn't the work of a sane young man.
We cannot always control other members of our families, however much we care, or however much we want to.

Holmes dropped out of college so was not the responsibility of the university counselling and psychological services either.
He buried himself alone in his flat, and built his booby traps
He was no one else's responsibility.
The question that should be asked was how was a madman able to so freely buy guns and thousands and thousands of rounds of ammunition with such impunity?

[AZ.bbm]

Not at all, Oilgun. I often wonder at the media.

-Me,too! -- very, VERY often!

[AZ.bbm]

First let me say that nothing excuses what this guy did.  Nothing excuses a massacre like this.  We know he’s guilty, he deserves the worst we can give him.
(...) There are too many questions and no answers yet.

MB,
If he is tried and found guilty there will be no punishment that will fit this crime, just as there is no punishment commensurate with a war crime...

[janjo]

If he is mentally ill, which seems likely, how responsible would he be anyway?

He could have known perfectly well what he was doing, and still be mentally deranged.

There is no suitable punishment, apart from protecting the public from him forever.

[doodler]

He did it, he's responsible. Period. Enough with the excuses every time someone commits a heinous act and starts crying how his mommy didn't love him or his daddy wasn't in the home or he watched too much violence on his xbox or he was off his meds. These people are abberations and are not tolerated by any animal species except the enlightened human one. Mother Nature has a way of dealing with anti-social behavior and even humans can't fool Her.

[morrobay]

I agree, he may be brilliant; and it looks like he planned this meticulously for months, perhaps years, but he is still a madman.

The only event I can remember where I "blamed" a family member, was when Andrea Yates killed her 5 children.  It was later found that she had a long history of extreme post partum depression after each child, but the husband seemed to wash his hands of any responsibility for the fact that she continued to have children, after being warned by doctors that it might be dangerous.