Theater Shooting Columbia
State University FIR2302
The Aurora Theater Shooting occurred on July 20th, 2012, in Aurora, Colorado. A lone
gunman entered a crowded midnight showing of The Dark Night Rises at the Century 16 theater.
James Holmes utilized tear gas grenades and multiple firearms to commit one of the deadliest
acts of mass violence in the state of Colorado. Holmes entered the theater through a fire exit
where he used smoke and tear gas before opening fire into the confused crowd. The attack
caused 70 injuries and 12 deaths. In addition to injuries attributed to gunfire, many people were
injured during the ensuing chaos and one victim was injured in an adjacent theater by gunfire
, (Jacobo, 2017). The response by emergency personnel was hindered by multiple issues ranging
from traffic to command problems.
I chose Aurora Theater incident for this essay because it was somewhat local to my
hometown in Colorado. Even being a major urban area, Aurora usually is not subjected to
violence on this scale. I had been involved with the fire service for right at 10 years when this
incident happened. The response was heavily criticized by some but looking at it from a first
responders’ point of view, I was able to see the reasoning behind some of the decisions made. It
was also evident that even with Aurora’s excellent level of training and planning, this was the
text book definition of a mass casualty incident for them. Aurora Police, Fire and EMS systems
were completely overwhelmed by this incident.
This incident was quite different from other mass violence situation, even compared to
others involving shootings. The Aurora Theater Shooting was one of the first mass shooting
incidents in recent history that did not involve a school of some sort. The time of day also set the
incent apart. The shooting happened just after midnight. For Colorado, this incident was almost
unheard of. Outside of the Columbine High School Shooting, there had not been many incidents
of mass violence in Colorado.
11:20:37 GMT -05:00
State University FIR2302
The Aurora Theater Shooting occurred on July 20th, 2012, in Aurora, Colorado. A lone
gunman entered a crowded midnight showing of The Dark Night Rises at the Century 16 theater.
James Holmes utilized tear gas grenades and multiple firearms to commit one of the deadliest
acts of mass violence in the state of Colorado. Holmes entered the theater through a fire exit
where he used smoke and tear gas before opening fire into the confused crowd. The attack
caused 70 injuries and 12 deaths. In addition to injuries attributed to gunfire, many people were
injured during the ensuing chaos and one victim was injured in an adjacent theater by gunfire
, (Jacobo, 2017). The response by emergency personnel was hindered by multiple issues ranging
from traffic to command problems.
I chose Aurora Theater incident for this essay because it was somewhat local to my
hometown in Colorado. Even being a major urban area, Aurora usually is not subjected to
violence on this scale. I had been involved with the fire service for right at 10 years when this
incident happened. The response was heavily criticized by some but looking at it from a first
responders’ point of view, I was able to see the reasoning behind some of the decisions made. It
was also evident that even with Aurora’s excellent level of training and planning, this was the
text book definition of a mass casualty incident for them. Aurora Police, Fire and EMS systems
were completely overwhelmed by this incident.
This incident was quite different from other mass violence situation, even compared to
others involving shootings. The Aurora Theater Shooting was one of the first mass shooting
incidents in recent history that did not involve a school of some sort. The time of day also set the
incent apart. The shooting happened just after midnight. For Colorado, this incident was almost
unheard of. Outside of the Columbine High School Shooting, there had not been many incidents
of mass violence in Colorado.
11:20:37 GMT -05:00
