Victim names emerge in Colo. rampage

Jessica Ghawi - an aspiring broadcaster who loved hockey - escaped mass shooting in Toronto a month ago, but lost her life in Aurora massacre. / CBS News

Updated July 21, 2012, 2:11 AM ET

(AP) AURORA, Colo. - This was to be a weekend full of fun for Alex Sullivan: He planned to ring in his 27th birthday with friends at a special midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" and then celebrate his first wedding anniversary on Sunday.

Late Friday, Sullivan's family confirmed that he was among those killed in a deadly shooting rampage in suburban Denver after being notified by police.

Sullivan was in the crowded theater when a gunman barged in, set off a gas canister and began firing as spectators dove for cover.

"Funny, vivacious" reporter, 24, among victims in Colo. shooting

"He was a very, very good young man," said Sullivan's uncle, Joe Loewenguth. "He always had a smile, always made you laugh. He had a little bit of comic in him. Witty, smart. He was loving, had a big heart."

Micayla Medek, 23, was also among the dead, her father's cousin, Anita Busch, told the Associated Press.

Busch said the news, while heartbreaking, was a relief for the family after an agonizing day of waiting for news.

"I hope this evil act ... doesn't shake people's faith in God," she said.

A sports blogger who recently wrote of surviving a Toronto shooting was also among those killed, the woman's brother said.

The death of Jessica Ghawi, who was also known as Jessica Redfield, was a "complete and utter shock, said her brother, Jordan Ghawi.

He has been using his blog and Twitter account to update what he knew about his sister's condition throughout the day. He also appeared on the Today Show.

Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said Friday evening at a press conference that in addition to the 12 dead, 70 were injured, but not all were shot. Eleven are in critical condition.

Oates said the last of the 10 deceased victims from the midnight showing of a Batman movie was removed from the theater Friday afternoon.

Oates said officers expect to get a confirmed list of the deceased and meet with their families Friday night.

In addition to the 10 people who died at the theater, two others later died from their injuries.

Jordan Ghawi said on his website that a man who was with his sister at the theater described the chaos, saying he and Jessica Ghawi dropped to take cover when the gunman first started shooting. Jessica Ghawi was shot in the leg, her brother wrote, describing details relayed to him by a man identified on the blog only as a mutual friend named Brent.

Jessica Ghawi began screaming when she was shot, and the friend tried to calm her and stop the bleeding, according to Jordan Ghawi.

The man was then shot, but he continued attending to Jessica Ghawi's wound before he realized she had stopped screaming, Jordan Ghawi stated. The man said Jessica Ghawi had been shot in the head.

Jordan Ghawi said the friend escaped the theater after being shot twice, but he was expected to survive. Jordan Ghawi praised the man, saying his "actions are nothing but heroic."

Jessica Ghawi, 24, moved to Denver from Texas about a year ago and friends and colleagues described her as outgoing, smart and witty.

"She was always kind of a sponge as far as how she could be an even better journalist and sports broadcaster," said Peter Burns, a radio sports show host with Mile High Sports Radio in Denver, where Ghawi recently interned.

Ghawi blogged at length about surviving the Eaton Centre mall shooting in Toronto that killed two people and sent several others to the hospital. Burns and his girlfriend, Lauren Anuskewicz, both said the blog reflected everything she told them.

"She was like, `You guys would never believe what happened,"' Anuskewicz said.

Ghawi wrote of the Toronto shooting: "I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday. I saw the terror on bystanders' faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change. I was reminded that we don't know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath."

Anuskewicz said Ghawi had been in Toronto visiting a boyfriend and "it obviously was a very scary situation."

"And to be just so close to it," she added. "It's just impossible to imagine that not even a month and a half later this would happen, and she would be involved. It's just awful."

Yet, Burns said, Ghawi seemed more enlivened than intimidated by surviving that shooting.

"After the Toronto incident, I think she even looked at that like, `Hey, even after that, I'm able to pursue my dream," he said.

Burns said he was close to Ghawi's family. He moved to Denver from Texas a few years ago and talked with Ghawi about establishing a sports radio career there, he said.

Former colleague Mike Taylor, a sports host at KTKR-AM in San Antonio described how she reluctantly changed her name for her career, taking the name "Redfield" as a play on her red hair because it was easier to say than her given name.

Jessica Ghawi was a prolific social media user under the new name. Her last tweet stated in all capital letters, "movie doesn't start for 20 minutes."

[KingYeg]

I'm not very religious, but one does have to see the small kindnesses of the terrible tragedy. I mean, how many lives were saved by the fact that his decoy failed? Maybe it was coincidence, or maybe, just maybe, there is a God. Perhaps this is just another battle of the ware between God and Satan and not all could be saved.

But really, I do wish people would stop trying to blame many other things except this guy and his actions. He was the one who pulled the trigger, he was the one with no regard for the lives of these people and he was the one who killed them. Guns were the tools, not the cause. This country was built with guns and lives in the first place, and personally, I like to eat wild game, so I myself am grateful to have a chance to hunt it.

I also play all the violent video games, but there's a huge difference between a cg character, who are identical to many other cg characters vs. a person or people who are unique and alive and feel and have people that feel for them. As for movies, they are all an act.

I can see why people want to blame outside sources, and indeed they may not have exactly helped, but many people everywhere have the opportunity and the tools available to end another's life, but they don't. This individual is responsible for his actions.

Whether because he was crazy or whether he just doesn't care for the value of a life of another, but now isn't the time to blame our government for these deaths, or our laws or anybody but this man. If you want to stop this and stop the death, then we need to push for stricter laws to those who violate the laws in place. I mean, unless there's a lot that we're missing, then this guy Holmes is without a doubt guilty, so let's convict and sentence and lets block his appeals. Or try him as a terrorist or with treason. Let's make it so people who violate our laws, and destroy other's lives at their will, do not get it easy

[J956]

Quoting the article: "I hope this evil act ... doesn't shake people's faith in God," she said."

Apparently this "God" lets people die and also lets them live, but nobody can explain why good people die; they just keep pretending it's not random because if they thought it was, their minds couldn't heal.

In terms of being a protector, "God" is doing a lousy job, which leads me to conclude that he/she/it is nonexistent.

Then there's the standard rationalization of "everything happens for a reason." To me, the randomness of these things isn't much different than stubbing your toe on a chair one day but not the next. Where's the "reason" in coincidence or bad luck?

Sorry for the logical intrusion. Go ahead and pray to the empty air if it makes you feel better.

[credibility2]

May God bless all those who perished or were injured during this senseless tragedy.

[democracy8]

Yes, and that's really all that should be said at this point. Thank you.

[honest_pols]

NOTICE TO CBS AND TO ALL OTHER MEDIA ORGS:

Remove the subject 'Aurora CO Movie Shooter's' photo at once ...

... or y'awl will face litigation for violating his rights!

[matt6052]

Dude looks just like Quentin Tarantino!

And the theater massacre was planned just like the ending of Inglourious Basterds. In that film, the heroes rain bullets onto people who they don't like in a theater packed for a film premier.

All the conservative conspiracy theorists believe that the anti-gun lobby was trying to create a wild west with the Fast and Furious program. Flooding Mexico with guns would create so much violence that Americans would enact radical anti-gun laws.

The anti-gun crowd isn't attempting to create violence on the border though. They're using films to create gun violence against movie goers. By featuring gun violence against film fans, the lunatic fringe will open fire in theaters when they begin shooting. The excessive violence will cause average Americans to hate guns and support radical gun control.

Tarantino has been involved in the gun issue for a long, long time. His first big film, Resevoir Dogs, featured a lot of guns. In his smash hit, Jackie Brown, the name of the gun runner in Mexico was even Mr. Walker. Is that a hint about the possible blow-back from gun walking programs? It couldn't be, because that film was in 1998, while gun walking programs started only later under Bush.

Are there any other films in release that feature gun violence against movie theater crowds?

[democracy8]

Please stop spamming this delusional nonsense! No one is responsible for this except the idiot who pulled the trigger. Not the Hollywood media, not Rush, not Obama or Holder, not the gun sellers or the actual weapons themselves. You are simply being disrespectful by trying to use this event to further your personal political views. ENOUGH! Show some respect!!!

[J956]

Your conspiracy angle is convoluted, but the sheer number of deaths by gun in Hollywood movies doesn't strike me as coincidental to these incidents.

People are twisted in how they gravitate toward canned violence but are "shocked" when the real thing happens. I do hold Hollywood culpable on many levels for glorifying death.

[juststandinghereallalone]

Millions of people that enjoy the shooting sports or hunts has that much ammo on hand. Ammo is cheaper in bulk and with prices on metal skyrocketing people are stocking up. Weapons, ammo and other equipment in the hands of law abiding citizens isn't a threat to anyone. Our lack of mental healthcare in this country and a News Media that hypes these tragedies for ratings, giving psychos a world stage and ready made plans from previous attacks is the threat. This is a terrible violent act and my heart goes out to all those effected. It will probably come to light that this was the act of a mentally and emotionally disturbed individual that wanted to take his angst out on society. People will be looking for answers as to why this person chose to do this, and how he planned this out. The News Media should take credit for creating this monster and giving him the incentive and ideas to carry this massacre out. This is just another instance where a copycat psycho has been educated by the constant exploitation of similar shootings in the past. The Media use these events to hype their ratings, and go into 24/7 coverage, giving all the gore and details and gives a world stage for these nut jobs to get fame, notoriety and inflict maximum damage on our society. Here's an idea News Media, do your job in an ethical manner, report the story then shut the hell up.

[J956]

I wouldn't draw a distinct line between shooting animals for sport vs. people. Many "hunters" are just trash.

Have you see all the "hunting" videos on YouTube where people clearly enjoy killing animals for the camera? Look up a video called "90 kills in 2 minutes" for a quick intro to that sick pastime.

The morality of people who post "kill shot" videos is in the gutter, and many seem capable of turning those guns on people in random incidents.

[AnnieDanny]

I saw how frantic the family of Alex Sullivan was: wondering if he was among the victims. They knew he intended to go to the movie that night. It was something special for his birthday. I'm very sorry for them. I was hoping for them, that he would be ok or recovering in a hospital. What is there to say that can comfort these families, when this is so totally senseless and evil?

[WitchBroom]

@AnnieDanny: Around 8pm tonight, the Denver Post reported that the family and friends of Alex Sullivan received the worst possible news.

[charleytakaya]

I have already talked to several people who were here and night before Im sorry - I am not in town and will do any degree of reading people need (no charge ) drop me email [e-mail]

In a nutshell , Holmes was ****** up in the head, but we already know that.

Heres a fast public read - about what was going inside of him - before then, then and now - I know it doesnt change that moment but it is the moment now - again God Bless - Sorry for the lost of lives and tragic moment then now and ahead.

***THIS READING - PSYCHIC STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS (UNCONSCIOUS REMOTE VIEWING) CONNECTION COMES IN THREE VISIONS ON HOLMES BODY _ MIND_SPIRIT ****


[The Body]

"Within me I am arising from a depth of darkness, like finally pushing from being submerged with drawning in the depths of this darkness, now I arise as a symbolic person in the flames of this glory, the intensity of what I do is a message to all. These actions are meant to burn into your minds I arise it is my power to do this and I have, will and have done it for a higher purpose from within my greater mind and being, surrounding my body, is yellow, orange, white, these are the flames of some glory that outpours from me, from my heart, I am a messager its my importance and mission."

[The Mind]

"I birth this and it will grow, I am the female mother of this idea and this action will start a movement from within my mind to you, and its not from any grey area, its one I have put everyone around me in now, its something I have birth and have born, its like a baby but its not, its a creation I have born into the now, now, I look at it and see its here now its from my mind I do this, I look around, it a naked woman, breasts out, rays of light radiating from her head like a streaming hair of light and she grasps the thing I created a complex ball of ideas, masses within light in a womb, I sit crossed legged as her, as I look at the baby that is being borne."



[The Spirit]

My body is that, my mind is here, but my spriit clearly knows that I have impacted many in a way that is dark and one they don't understand, I am control, its me, I know that I live with that, its my choice. And you have to understand its the cosmic one I do, all of you, I see me, my ego , my mind, my head in meditation and all your thoughts, voices those people around me are seeing what I am, what I have done, my moment, as you all have. the darkness is not grey it is not black, its as a cloud floating away in the sky.I am almost happy but I am content in what I do, as a completion of a task a mission"


**************************************************************************

I wish the best for everyone, how can we understand what happens when someone breaks from our societal norms to do such a thing. Again, saying I am sorry, my heart and soul and prayers goes out as we all have and will do, in this tragic moment.


God Bless, God Speed and the weekend will be blessed.


-CT

[LCCLYDE]

I think YOU need to be watched .WHAT KIND OF MUTTERING IS THAT.No firearms in your possesion I hope.

[WakeUpBeforeItsTooLate]

Utter and complete nonsense. You have no way of "remote viewing" the mind of this lunatic. Bottom Line: Holmes is probably a psychopath, furious and contemptuous of other human beings who were incapable of seeing his greatness. And, once angry enough, certain psychopaths will choose blood-lust to exact their revenge. And, remember, psychopaths don't feel guilt, empathy or remorse which gives them the ability to commit the worst kinds of atrocities with a calm demeanor that makes them all the more evil.

[Crow1985]

Micayla Medek R.I.P You were a good person.