Daily Archives: July 20, 2012
Shooting unfolds in real time on social media
Anderson Cooper anchors “AC360” from Aurora, Colorado, scene of the deadly movie theater shooting, tonight 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET on CNN.
(CNN) — The posts show how quickly life can change.
“Everyones dressing up as Batman, im going dressed as Bruce Wayne… Albeit a short stubby unsexy Bruce Wayne #CouldntFindBatmanMaskInTime,” wrote one Twitter user, identified online as Zach Eastman.
“Going to see the final batman tonight! So EXCITED!!!” wrote another Twitter user, @DjaylaRene.
And, in hindsight, most chillingly: “Of course we’re seeing Dark Knight … people should never argue with me.”
Gunman kills 12 in Colorado theater shooting
James Holmes, 24, was identified by two federal law enforcement officers as the man who opened fire during a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” at an Aurora, Colorado, theater early Friday. At least 12 people were killed and 38 wounded, Police Chief Dan Oates said.
Repubican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney delivers remarks regarding the shooting in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater on Friday at a campaign event in Bow, New Hampshire.
A cyclist and pedestrians pass a theater showing the latest Batman movie in Hollywood, California, on Friday. Warner Brothers said it was “deeply saddened” by Friday’s massacre at a Colorado screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Police break a window of the apartment of Colorado shooting suspect James Holmes on Friday.
Jessica Ghawi, an aspriring sportscaster, was one of the victims.
A woman waits for news outside Gateway High School, a few blocks from the scene of the shooting at the Century Aurora 16.
Agents search the suspect’s car outside the theater.
Agents search the trash container outside the suspect’s apartment in Aurora.
Obama supporters observe a moment of silence for the victims at a campaign event at Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday.
Obama speaks on the shootings at the event in Fort Myers.
Moviegoers are interviewed at the Century Aurora 16.
Chris Ramos holds his movie ticket from “The Dark Knight Rises.” He was inside the theater with his sister when the shooting occurred.
Officers gathered at the theater Friday.
Investigators were a common sight at the theater Friday.
Authorities gather at the shooting suspect’s apartment building in Aurora. Police broke a second-floor window to look for explosives that the suspect claimed were in the apartment.
Screaming, panicked moviegoers scrambled to escape from the black-clad gunman, who wore a gas mask and randomly shot as he walked up the theater’s steps, witnesses said.
University of Colorado Hospital spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery said that all of the wounded had injuries from gunshot wounds, ranging from minor to critical.
Onlookers gather outside the Century Aurora 16 theater.
A woman sits on top of her car near the crime scene.
An ambulance is parked outside. Of the wounded, at least 20 were being treated at the University of Colorado Hospital, said spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery. “They’re arriving by police, by ambulance. Some are walking in,” she said.
Police block access to the Town Center mall after the shooting.
Cell phone video taken by someone at the theater showed scores of people screaming and fleeing the building. Some, like this man, had blood on their clothes.
Witnesses told KUSA that the gunman kicked in an emergency exit door and threw a smoke bomb into the darkened theater before opening fire.
What is believed to be the suspect’s car is examined after the shooting.
Police Chief Dan Oates said there was no evidence of a second gunman, and FBI spokesman Jason Pack said it did not appear the incident was related to terrorism.
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Photos: Shooting at Colorado movie theater
Those posts surfaced before the shootings early Friday morning at a late-night showing in Aurora, Colorado, of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises,” in which 12 people were killed and 38 injured. All three people who were quoted above appear to have been in the theater complex when a heavily armed gunman opened fire on moviegoers, according to police.
The third post appears to be from Jessica Ghawi, who was reported dead in the shooting. Ghawi was a former sports-news intern at a television station in San Antonio, according to that station, Fox 29. “It’s true, my former intern Jessica Ghawi was a victim in the shootings last night. She used @JessicaRedfield as her twitter handle,” wrote a Twitter user identified as Mike Taylor.
In the hours after the shooting, her friend mourned her death in real time.
Listen to theater shooting 911 calls
Obama: Such evil is senseless
Video: Chaos at theater shooting scene
Witness: People bleeding in theater
“Devastated,” wrote a sports radio host in Denver, identified online as Peter Burns. “Lost a very close friend in the shooting last night. @JessicaRedfield came to Denver to pursue sports career. I’m shaking.”
Aspiring sports reporter Ghawi feared dead in shooting
The horrifying posts highlight a shift in the way our society tells the story of a tragedy, and also how we react to it. Before Twitter, smartphones and YouTube, it would have been impossible for an event like Colorado’s “Batman Massacre” to have played out for the global public in real time.
The shooting is just the latest instance of social media being used to document a tragedy or a news event even as it is unfolding. A Pakistani man last year unwittingly live-tweeted the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. And the war in Syria is being documented in large part by citizens and members of the opposition movement who risk their lives to post YouTube videos and photos of the violence.
NRA tweeter was ‘unaware’ of Colorado shooting, spokesman says
But the social media posts about the Colorado shooting are a haunting reminder of the visceral power of first-person accounts of tragedy. And also a sign that society these days deals with grieving after an event like this in a much more public and immediate way than in years past.
Reports of the 1999 Columbine school shooting, for example, which happened only 17 miles from Aurora, spread in a much different way. Thirteen years ago, witnesses talked to TV crews rather than uploading their stories instantly to the Internet with mobile phones.
Shooting turns movie into surreal horror: ‘This is real’
Some reports from the Aurora movie theater appeared to come out as the shooting occurred.
“Now I’m thinking it was bullets coming through the wall from 9 causing smoke and fire cracker sounds. #aurorashooting #batman #shootng,” a Twitter user identified as Jamie Marshall wrote.
“Never seen so many cop cars in my life. Its a parade of lights,” wrote Isaac Ramos.
“Everything keeps replaying in my head. It was so unreal,” @DjaylaRene wrote.
“I am getting ready to cry. So scared. I need a hug. I almost got shot 9 times. I had a chance to be like 50,” wrote another Twitter user, @Abenistar.
He later added: “I seen a person bleeding out their mouth and gasping for their last breath. This ain’t right. #Century16Shooting. Thunk the world is ending.”
Shaky YouTube videos show people screaming, crying and rushing out of the theater after the shooting, some of them with bloody wounds. Another video, apparently taken outside the building by a person who was in the theater next to the shooting, offers a glimpse into the mindset of a person who has just witnessed tragedy. The amateur videographer sounds to be at a loss for words.
“Oh Jesus. July 20th, 2012. Aurora Century 16,” he says, in a sort of real-time confessional about the event. “There has been a massive shooting here. A lot of people wounded, a lot of people dead. I can’t really take pictures, just because I’d rather (be) helping people than wanting to take pictures of some pretty ghastly (expletive). There’s some guy in a gas mask apparently — teargassed theater 9. We were in theater 8. Just lit it up. It hit a lot of people, a lot of younger people. Oh. It’s pretty — it’s pretty bad.”
Timeline of worst mass shootings in U.S.
Officials also turned to the Internet in an effort to make sense of the events.
The Red Cross is asking people who witnessed the shooting to tell loved ones that they were OK over social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
“People don’t know how close you were, so help alleviate that anxiety,” spokeswoman Patricia Billinger told USA Today.
And other officials used the Internet to offer sympathy.
“We certainly appreciate the nation’s thoughts and prayers as our police department continues to investigate the terrible theater shooting tragedy that occurred today,” the city of Aurora wrote on its Facebook page. “Our condolences go out to the victims and their family members.”
Are you there? Share your story with us on CNN iReport and post your tributes to the victims.
CNN’s Doug Gross and Dorrine Mendoza contributed to this report.
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Dead Space 3 adding co-op to curb fear factor
From the moment the first Necromorph pops into view, the Dead Space franchise has become one of the video game industry’s scariest titles.
But has the Electronic Arts series been too frightening for some? Laura Miele, head of marketing for EA Games, suggests that in a report from MCV.
Miele tells the site it’s a big reason why developers added a cooperative option in the follow-up, Dead Space 3.
“We were hearing feedback that they love the thriller game, but it was pretty scary, and the obvious next step was that they wanted to play with someone,” Miele tells MCV. “So we introduced co-op into the game.”
Miele insists Dead Space 3 will remain just as horrifying, but adds the option to play with a friend might encourage more players to try the game.
However, judging from a demo hosted by EA during June’s Electronic Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/BNSOn8lYL48/1
Home project helpers
I’m sure you can think of a dozen things that need to be done at your house right now. From cleaning out gutters to fixing drippy faucets, it never seems to end.
The good news is that, thanks to the Internet, you no longer need to be overwhelmed. I’ve selected some websites that will help you become smarter and more efficient about home maintenance. They may even help you reclaim a few of those lost weekends.
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MORE: Komando columns
Personal Color Viewer: Inside or out, painting your home is a major burden. We’ve all seen houses painted colors that were poorly chosen … sometimes we wonder if an extended trip to the bar was involved before the paint-buying began.
How many times have you gone to the paint store, returned home and taped a mishmash of color samples to the wall? Then, after a few
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‘Minecraft’ sales on Xbox top 3 million
Not even a shift from PC to console can slow down indie hit Minecraft.
Its creator, Markus “Notch” Persson, revealed through Twitter that the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft has topped 3 million downloads.
“I got told Minecraft for XBLA passed 3 million sales today!” Persson writes.
Already a massive hit on the PC, Minecraft became the fastest-selling game on Xbox Live. Five days after the game launched on the console, Microsoft announced it had topped 1 million downloads.
The game also remains one of the most popular online titles on Xbox Live, according to recent data from programming manager Larry Hryb. As of July 9, it’s the second most played title online, behind only Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
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Viacom and DirecTV reach deal
TV programming such as The Daily Show and Dora the Explorer are back on DirecTV.
The satellite TV service’s 20 million subscribers had Viacom’s 17 networks (a total of 26 channels) returned to them when Viacom and DirecTV reached a deal over programming fees, the companies announced early Friday.
The channels returned were BET, CMT, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV, Logo, Spike, TV Land, MTV2, VH1, VH1 Classic, Palladia, Nick Jr., Nicktoons, TeenNick, Tr3s and Centric. As part of ending the 10-day dispute, DirecTV has an option to add the EPIX service to its entertainment offerings, Viacom noted on its official blog.
DirecTV customers will be able to watch Viacom channels on computers and portable devices such as tablets and smartphones on the service’s DirecTVEverywhere platform.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but DirecTV stressed that carrying the EPIX movie channel, which the company said Viacom had
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/wKxq6-OevYw/1
