Mass Murder Erupts at Batman Premier

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright July 21, 2012
All Rights Reserved.                                         

                Erupting July 20 at the midnight premier of the “The Dark Knight” at Aurora, Colorado’s Century 16 multiplex theater, 24-year-old James Eagen Holmes becomes the latest young ballistic mass killer.  Known for his academic prowess as a neuroscience graduate of U.C. Riverside, Holmes went on to his neuroscience Ph.D. at the University of Colorado, Denver.  While no one knows why he disenrolled in June, he was feverishly buying guns at local gun stores in the Denver area.  When all was said and done, Holmes stockpiled over 6,000 rounds of ammo from the Internet, added to his arsenal of an AR-15 assault rifle or civilian form of the M-16, a Remmington 12-gauge shotgun and two .40 caliber Glock semiautomatic handguns.  Holmes detonated two smoke bombs before opening fire with his 100-bullet AR-15 clip, clad in riot gear, wearing a helmet, gasmask, bulletproof flack-jacket and neck and crotch protectors. 

            Investigators found his Aurora apartment booby-trapped with bottles of potentially inflammable fluids tied together by detonation wires, causing consternation for local police bomb-squads.  While investigators have no motives for the rampage, the same murky mental disorder that no doubt drove 23-year-old Seung-Hui Cho to massacre 32 students and faculty at Virgina Tech April 16, 2007 showed up again.  While Cho had a history of mental illness, Aurora detectives haven’t turned up any such records.  “He was dressed in head-to-toe armor and looked like he meant business,” said eyewitness Jordan Crofter, who escaped unscathed.  “He just walked around like he was having fun.  It was target practice.  His goal was to kill as many people as he could,” the same goal as 39-year-old Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan when he gunned down 13 U.S. soldiers Nov. 5, 2009 at Fort Hood, Texas.

            White House officials ruled out Mideast terrorism in Holmes’ rampage.  New York City police Commissioner Ray W. Kelly told the press that Holmes painted his hair red and called himself “The Joker,” one of Batman’s old green-haired villains.  “This is an act . . .  of a very deranged mind,” said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, putting his finger more closely on the real motive behind Holmes’ rampage:  Mental illness.  Known as a “shy guy . . . a loner” from his San Diego neighbor, Holmes was a high school honors student, playing soccer and running track for Westview High School.  “He was at the top of the top,” said UC Riverside Chancellor Timothy P. White, bound by confidentiality to not reveal details from private academic records.  Holmes studied “how we all behave,” said White, adding “it’s ironic and sad” studying neuroscience or mental health offer no assurance of one’s sanity.

            University of Colorado officials haven’t said why Holmes left the program.  If he dropped out on his own, it’s possible a psychotic process robbed him of his objectivity and grip on reality.  When Holmes went on a gun-buying frenzy between May 22 and July 13, he bought his first Glock and Remington 12-gauge shotgun only six days apart ending May 28.  He bought his .223 Caliber Smith & Wesson rifle and second Glock only 13 days before his violent seizure.  Gun experts estimate Holmes could have unloaded between 50 to 60 rounds from his 100-round drum magazine.  Over 200 Aurora police descended quickly on the theater, chasing Holmes into the parking lot where he surrendered peacefully.  Now held in isolation at the Arapahoe County Jail, Holmes faces at least 12 counts of premeditated murder when arraigned, Monday, 8:30 a.m. in Arapahoe County Courthouse.

            When 22-year-paranoid psychotic Jared Lee Loughner killed six people and shot Rep. Gabby Giffords through the head Jan. 8, 2011, everyone looked for a political motive.  Examining Loughner’s mental status, it was clear that he was seriously mentally ill yet capable of acquiring handguns.  Today’s Dept. of Justice background checks include criminal records but no history of mental illness.  While mental health history wouldn’t have stopped Holmes, it would have stopped Loughner and Cho, both seriously mentally ill.  Current gun laws don’t consider mental health history for gun purchases.  Authorities should have been alerted to Holmes’ rapid and frequent gun purchases, something triggering red flags.  Second Amendment or not, no person with a known history of mental illness or psychiatric problems should be permitted to purchase any firearms—period, end of story.

            Holmes’ rampage raises new questions about the limits of gun ownership under the Second Amendment.  Background checks must include histories of mental illness or the frequency of gun purchases.  When 27-year-old domestic U.S. terrorist Timothy McVeigh blew-up Okalahoma City’s Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building April 19, 1995 killing 168 U.S. citizens, U.S. authorities had to re-evaluate the easy availability of ammonium nitrate and nitromethane racing fuel.  While no one questions today’s restrictions on purchasing such chemicals, the DOJ doesn’t do appropriate background checks, including mental health records, on would be gun buyers.  Holmes’ multiple gun purchases should have triggered red flags, prompting more stringent requirements for buying more guns.  While no one can bring back Holmes’ victims, the White House must learn from past experience that loners, misanthropes, and mentally ill citizens should not be allowed to buy guns.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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