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Gene · 07-20-2012, 12:21 PM

In 1999 I was working at home and my wife was working in Aurora. One of us heard about Columbine and called the other and though the day I relayed info from the TV to her. Some people at her job knew people in that neighborhood and everyone was worried. Later I discovered a friend's son went to that school and he had been mentioned by the sheriff as a "person of interest". This was completely false and the sheriff had spoken recklessly.

I don't know if we are connected to everyone on the planet by 6 degrees, but we know a lot of people in Colorado. In 1999 we thought Colorado was above the craziness that breaks out in the country from time to time. We found we were only above the nation in altitude. There was the loss of innocence that always hurts. I guess I should have known better about connections because several years before there was the Okla. City bombing. A friend, originally from Oklahoma, told me her brother was a block away in his office, but he was ok. Right now I feel like I always know someone or know someone who knows someone who is at or near a major tragedy.

So, once again we wonder. We know many people in the Denver area and some live in Aurora. Aurora is a big city (325,000, 56th in country) adjacent to Denver. There are many Forum members in Colorado and others who know people in Colorado.

We haven't heard anything this morning and I suppose it will sort out in the next days. So far 12 dead, 59 wounded. I can say this is most probably done by a crazy person and it can happen anywhere. It is 250 miles from here, but it feels closer than that.

I hope everyone we know is ok, but a lot of people aren't and won't be for a long time. I have to e-mail close friends who live a block from Aurora, like movies and probably didn't go to a midnight showing, but I have to know.

Gene

Airslide · 07-20-2012, 02:27 PM

This is a very sad day indeed. My thoughts go out to the victims and their families..

Taylormade · 07-20-2012, 02:50 PM

As a Virginia Tech alumnus, I can assure you that it can, in fact, happen anywhere. My thoughts are with the families and the community affected by this senseless tragedy.

Gene · 07-20-2012, 03:36 PM

The friends I contacted are fine. They live a couple of miles away and have been to that theater many times. I suppose we'll hear about the scores of other people we know in the Denver area in time. Can't help wondering though.

We were thinking of seeing Batman tomorrow, but I'm just not up for it. Maybe in a week.

Are these mass shootings getting more frequent, or does it feel that way? I know in a country of 310 million, there are crazies who need to wreak havoc, but it seems too easy to do now. Long ago the rarity of this made them stand out—the guy who killed a lot of nurses or the one who shot people from a tower in Texas come to mind. In the past few decades, it becomes a blur—Columbine, Gabby Giffords (including a federal court judge and a little girl and more), Va. Tech, Okla. City, (not a shooting, but just as crazy), Ft. Hood. Here's one tally: http://www.bradycampaign.org/xshare/...-shootings.pdf

I don't want this to become another gun thread—they always say the same things, so I'm trying to avoid that.

Gene

Airslide · 07-20-2012, 03:41 PM

I agree Gene,

We can simply keep this as your post was originally intended. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this tragedy.

Vinnie

wahoonc · 07-20-2012, 03:46 PM

Not just in the US, worldwide...Canada, Finland, Sweden, UK have all had similar shootings in the past 15 years.

Aaron

Gene · 07-20-2012, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Not just in the US, worldwide...Canada, Finland, Sweden, UK have all had similar shootings in the past 15 years.

Aaron

One of the people killed at the theater witnessed a shooting in a Toronto mall on June 2.

Gene

Lily&Me · 07-20-2012, 04:30 PM

These folks seem to pop up all over the country. Senseless tragedy and random acts of violence are not confined to large urban areas.

I did hear on the news this morning that the suspect had either a Tennessee driver's license or Tennessee plates on his vehicle, can't remember which. May not have been a native coloradoan.

Such a dreadfully tragic and sad event. Our thoughts are with them all.

Maggie

wahoonc · 07-20-2012, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doug&maggie

These folks seem to pop up all over the country. Senseless tragedy and random acts of violence are not confined to large urban areas.

I did hear on the news this morning that the suspect had either a Tennessee driver's license or Tennessee plates on his vehicle, can't remember which. May not have been a native coloradoan.

Such a dreadfully tragic and sad event. Our thoughts are with them all.

Maggie

He was from CA attending college in CO. Working on a PhD in Neuroscience.

Aaron

safari57 · 07-20-2012, 09:47 PM

The thing to remember here is, when you leave a friend and say goodbye, mean it with passion, because it may just be for real. Same goes, when you leave a loved one, even if they are just heading out to the store to pick something up, don't flippantly say see ya, say goodbye with love in your eyes and voice.

Stuff happens, whether it is a wing nut in a theater, some gang banger that has zero brains and a big trigger, a distracted driver, or the body decides it is all done doing what it is supposed to be doing.

We are never ever "safe" completely. So love your life, the people you treasure, and when this stuff happens close your eyes for a moment and remember those folks and their unfinished lives, the families they've left behind, and the promise of what could have been.

ROBERTSUNRUS · 07-20-2012, 10:10 PM

Hi, I have been watching the news all day long. I always want to say that things like this are un-believable, but the older I get, I realize that nothing is un-believable anymore. His parents live near San Diego, Ca. and the news media has taken over their neighborhood; camping out in their front yard. [actually in the street] What grief some kids cause their parents. The news media likes to swarm houses, such as "Octomom" who lives not too far from us too. I personally saw this. And the big question of the day is : WHY????????????

SilverGate · 07-20-2012, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by safari57

The thing to remember here is, when you leave a friend and say goodbye, mean it with passion, because it may just be for real. Same goes, when you leave a loved one, even if they are just heading out to the store to pick something up, don't flippantly say see ya, say goodbye with love in your eyes and voice.

Stuff happens, whether it is a wing nut in a theater, some gang banger that has zero brains and a big trigger, a distracted driver, or the body decides it is all done doing what it is supposed to be doing.

We are never ever "safe" completely. So love your life, the people you treasure, and when this stuff happens close your eyes for a moment and remember those folks and their unfinished lives, the families they've left behind, and the promise of what could have been.

Thanks safari57 for your comments about "the thing to remember here is...".

And thanks Gene for reminding us of the "six degrees of separation" idea and that we are all connected... and have connections...

Colorado shooting suspect, James Eagan Holmes, has a San Diego connection...

And San Diego has had it's own share of senseless killings, such as the McDonald's Massacre in 1984.