BP Markowitz Releases Statement on Aurora Shootings and Brooklyn Victim

BP Marty Markowitz has just released a statement on the Aurora shooting during the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises and one of its victims, who was from Brooklyn:

“The massacre in Aurora highlights once again the terrible consequences of our country’s love affair with guns, and why we must continue to follow the lead of Mayor Bloomberg and others in pushing Congress and state governments to enact tough gun laws. The Colorado shooting hits very close to home in Brooklyn, because reportedly one of the more than 70 people shot is a Brooklynite. Christopher Rapoza of Prospect Heights/Crown Heights says he just happened to be in Denver and was inside the theater when gunfire erupted and he was grazed by a bullet to his back. Fortunately, he is expected to recover but twelve other theatergoers weren’t as fortunate. All of Brooklyn joins the nation and the world in mourning the innocent lives lost, and we pray for the full recovery of the dozens of wounded victims in this senseless national tragedy.”

As BWW previously reported, a heavily armed gunman entered the midnight showing of Warner Bros' The Dark Knight Rises on Friday outside of Denver and went on a shooting rampage, reportedly killing 12 people and wounding 38 others. The 24-year-old suspect, identified as James Holmes, a former Colorado University medical school student, is currently in police custody.

According to eyewitnesses, the gunman came into the crowded theater through an emergency door twenty minutes into the movie, and set off a tear gas canaster. He then proceeded to open fire on the audience. “I thought it was pretty much the end of the world,” theatergoer Robert Jones told the Denver Post.

The suspect had a gas mask, rifle and handgun in his possession at the time of the shooting. He wore a bulletproof vest and a riot helmet. A shotgun and an assault rifle were also found inside the theater.