The coward was in the corner by the screen exit. There would be no way to survive from his front. No one outside knew what was happening.
You can only stop someone firing lime that from the side or back, which there wasn’t.
Most of the people in the theater were kids. My kid was in one (same time, different state). He can shoot but he has never learned how to take down a mad shooter barehanded. He weighs 90 lbs.
There were active duty members in that theater, one of our Cyber Warriors was killed. I want to think that he tried to stop the a@@hole before he was killed.
John Larimer, 27, was described as “an awesome guy” well known for his intelligence, witty sense of humor and for being a passionate person who wasn’t afraid to share his views, according to Ben Stoner, Larimer’s English teacher and theater director at Crystal Lake South High School.
“I have nothing but absolutely, positive memories of John. He was a passionate kid who was a unique individual who was strong in his beliefs,” said Stoner. “He was a kid who had pretty grounded values and didn’t mind standing up for someone.”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/crystal_lake/chi-crystal-lake-man-died-in-colorado-shooting-20120721,0,2675469.story
Mike Adams, NaturalNews asked your question in his post today, and provided comments/discussion...
Why did no one fight back?
http://www.naturalnews.com/036537_James_Holmes_Batman_shooting.html
The tactical advantage of the shooter was overhwhelming. He planned this attack over a considerable amount of time. The victims had seconds to assess the situation and under the circumstances, it may have been impossible for any person to come with a viable plan of counter-attack. To launch a successful counter-attack a person, IMO would have to had anticipated an attack and made mental preparations before the actual assault.
Have you ever been around tear gas? You are lucky to see a foot in front of you and you are doing everything you can to not hack up a lung. I am certain if that wasn’t a factor you would have seen more heroics (like we have in other instances), but the average civilian has never been around tear gas and would have trouble coping, at that acting heroic.
It is really hard to say what was the best approach for the viewers of this movie to take.
BUT, this has made me look at lasers for my CC handguns and made me want to hit the range more.
It is surprising how many people own guns they have never even sighted in.
Maybe you should ask what kind of person goes to a midnight movie premier?
-PJ
So I’d say the lessons learned are:
1) Make sure your CC weapons have a well adjusted laser.
2) Target practice like crazy, practicing shooting while diving, running, jumping out of helicopters and repelling down walls if possible
3) save lives first then worry about cc restriction laws later
A big problem may have been that he started at the front of the theater and those who weren’t shot were clearing out as he walked up the aisle. It would have taken a lot of courage to get off the floor or to go back into the theater after he passed your row and jump him. And if he was using two pistols at a time, both sides of theater are under threat. Not to mention the disorienting smoke bombs.
I wasn’t there, but how would one get to him with all those people in the way?
The answer is in the question.
I wondered the same thing, until I heard the details of the event, and how quickly, relatively, the event was over.
Compounding that the demographics of the audience, overwhelmingly kids, emotionally if not chronologically, prevented any real reaction.
The movie playing is of the LOUD variety. The audience was "into" weird surprises, including costumes. So when a dark-suited figure appears, they assume more of the same. There was no time to react.
If memory serves me right, the reported event lasted less than a minute.
As far as I’m concerned, this discussion isn’t just about the Batman shooting, it’s also about the (potential) next movie theater shooting, where some psychotic thug copies the preparations of this psychotic thug. I’ve worn body armor and a gas mask, and I think we’re giving this guy a whole lot more credit for being invulnerable than he deserves. I don’t blame most of those who ran or hid, considering that they were blind, disoriented, and had not thought the situation through, but we now have the chance to ask what could have been done and to consider the shooter’s vulnerabilities.
The field of view from a gas mask sucks, particularly in the dark and through gas. Breathing tear gas is no picnic either, but it neither blinded nor disabled most of the patrons - there were over 200 witnesses to the shooting who survived, including many who were very close to the shooter and went unnoticed. It’s possible that several had opportunities to intervene, if they had known what to do. Also, I have seen no indication of military or even sports experience for the shooter. This was not a Navy SEAL with his team, it was a lone nutcase who had thought through only a narrow range of possibilities.
In the dark and wearing a mask, I don’t believe he would have much peripheral vision, and if he was looking at one aisle, people near the other side would have had some opportunity to rush him. Anyone with football or martial arts experience who hit him would have brought him down, and the shooter’s armor would not have been much help, except as dead weight to keep him down once several people grappled him. Anyone in a nearby row with a firearm and adequate range time could have hit him, and he would not have known where the shot came from. Whether the shot penetrated or just bruised him, it would have disrupted the shooting. Other good options? I’m not sure, but we should give it some thought. “Give up, run, hide, or pray” is probably not the entirety of good ideas available on FR.
Tear Gas
This guy was studying neuroscience. He may have used those skills to successfully attack the people in the theater. They all were frozen as he set off two tear gas canisters. He knew they would assume he was part of the premier. This guy had the smarts to just open the back door and throw a bomb into the theater. He apparently walked up aisles only shooting those who tried to flee. Even knew how to separate those he wanted to kill from the herd.
Went through a bunch of the first responses and they didn’t seem to have the facts. Aurora has no CCW, and the theater doen not allow any carry. So the answer is the powers that be don’t want people to be able to defend themselves like our nanny bloomberg here in ny.