Like you, I was shocked – but not surprised – by the latest murderous rampage at a Denver area movie theatre. My heart goes out to the families of the 12 people killed and the 58 people injured. And what if it had happened here? It could have.
The mass murder brought back memories of the brutal case I handled in the late 1990s when a young medical student was walking inside the Sundance AMC Theatre when he was severely beaten by a roving gang. My client was hospitalized for weeks.There was no security inside the theatre. The manager was not on site. I filed suit against AMC Theatres and the
Bass company that managed Sundance Square security, fought to obtain a substantial recovery of money for my client, and forced AMC and Sundance Square to increase their security. There has never been another attack here, so at least something good came out of that bloody ambush.
I also sadly remembered the unbelievable shooting at our Tarrant County Courthouse 20 years ago that killed two attorneys and wounded two judges and a lawyer during a hearing, which presumably won’t happen again with the metal detectors and police officers at every door of all of our court houses.
And it was just a few years ago that 13 people were assassinated at Fort Hood (of all places). I don’t have to mention Virginia Tech, D.C., Columbine High School (also in suburban Denver), Wedgewood Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, and the other sites where mad men have killed scores of innocent bystanders.
This insanity is a worldwide problem. Witness the bus bombing just yesterday in Bulgaria that blew up young Israelis, the camp massacre and bombing last year in Norway that killed 77, and on and on. These unbelievable attacks show no sign of stopping.
I know there is no way to prevent them. Our society glorifies violence. Guns, ammunition, and bombs are ridiculously easy to obtain or make.There are too many violent films (like the new Batman movie that was being shown in Denver), tv shows, and video games.
But at least when my wife and I were at the Rave Theatre in Ridgmar Mall last week, there was a FWPD officer at the entrance. The TCU campus and its recreation center where I work out is heavily guarded. And of course airport security is tighter than ever.
Now AMC and Cinemark (for which I drafted the incorporation documents as a very young attorney) are increasing their security forces at their theatres — including at the Aurora 16.
I hope we can eliminate — or at least curtail — these attacks from happening so we can feel safe outside our locked homes.