Colorado Movie Theater Reopens Months After Massacre

By P. SOLOMON BANDA
Associated Press
AURORA, Colo.

The Colorado cinema where 12 people were killed and dozens injured in a shooting rampage nearly six months ago reopens Thursday with a remembrance ceremony and private screening for survivors–but for some Aurora victims, the pain is still too much, the idea too horrific.

Several families boycotted what they called a callous public relations ploy by the theater’s owner, Cinemark. They claimed the Texas-based company _ which has been publicly silent since the July 20 shooting _ didn’t ask them what should happen to the theater. They said Cinemark emailed them an invitation to Thursday’s reopening just two days after they struggled through Christmas without their loved ones.

“It was boilerplate Hollywood–`Come to our movie screening,'” said Anita Busch, whose cousin, 23-year-old college student Micayla Medek, died at the theater.

Others, like Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan, said the event was part of the healing process and that many residents wanted to see the theater back up and running.

James Holmes, a former neuroscience Ph.D. student, is charged with 166 felony counts, mostly murder and attempted murder, in the July 20 shootings at the former Century 16–now the Century Aurora. A judge ordered Holmes to stand trial, but he won’t enter a plea until March.

First responders to the massacre, Hogan, Gov. John Hickenlooper and religious leaders were to join survivors at the multiplex for Thursday’s event.

Other details about the ceremony have been a closely guarded secret. Cinemark refused to comment on the remembrance, refurbishments to the theater, or security measures, though it has extended sympathies to victims in prepared statements.

Victims have filed at least three federal lawsuits against Cinemark, alleging it should have provided security for the midnight “The Dark Knight Rises” showing, and that an exit door used by the gunman to get his weapons and re-enter should have had an alarm. In court papers, Cinemark says the tragedy was “unforeseeable and random.”

A widow of one victim has filed a negligence lawsuit against the psychiatrist who had seen Holmes as a patient, and lawyers for 14 other people in the theater complex have filed notice that they may do the same.

Hogan noted that the community grieves and heals in different ways but insisted that most Aurora residents wanted to reopen the theater.

“For those who don’t want to be there, who can’t be there, I understand and respect that,” Hogan said. “For us here, the larger community if you will, it is part of the healing process.”

Vanessa Ayala is a cousin of Jonathan Blunk, a 26-year-old Navy veteran and father of two who was killed. Ayala said she believed the multiplex should have been torn down and, perhaps, turned into a park. At the very least, she said, the auditorium where the shooting occurred should be a memorial.

“It’s not about letting the gunman win,” Ayala said. “He’s already lost. He’s lost everything he’s going to be. He’s a moron.”

The decision to reopen even divided at least one victim’s family.

Tom Sullivan, whose son, Alex, was killed, planned to attend the event, stressing the importance of healing and of reclaiming the theater from tragedy.

“The community wants the theater back and by God, it’s back,” Sullivan said. “Nobody is going to stop us from living our lives the way that we lived our lives before. This is where I live.”

Sullivan has said movies are a way for his family to come together, and that Alex was celebrating his 27th birthday when he was killed.

Alex’s widow, Cassandra Sullivan, joined the boycott. So did Tom Teves, whose own son, Alex, also was killed.

“They can do whatever they want. I think it was pretty callous,” Teves said.

Sandy Phillips, a San Antonio, Texas, businesswoman, lost her daughter, 24-year-old Jessica Ghawi, an aspiring sportscaster. She wasn’t attending Thursday’s ceremony.

Phillips said Thursday she understood the practicality of reopening the theater but wishes Cinemark had asked families about plans for the theater and how they would like their relatives to be honored.

“They could have avoided a lot of ill feeling,” she said of the company.

Building plans called for turning theater nine, where Holmes allegedly opened fire, into an “extreme digital cinema.” It wasn’t known if there would be a memorial.

Cinemark reportedly spent $1 million on renovations. Before it did, it allowed survivors and families to visit theater nine. Jacqueline Keaumey Lader, a U.S. Marine and Iraq war veteran, did so.

“It does help significantly,” she said. “It’s taken the power away from the place.”

Cinemark planned to temporarily open the theater to the public Friday and offer free movies through the weekend. It will permanently reopen on Jan. 25.

The orange, purple and teal neon lights that lit the sky the night of the shooting have been replaced. A mural depicts a man and woman, a film reel, and popcorn. A fence that blocked views of the theater days after the shooting was removed Thursday.