Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater shootings.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been one year since alleged mass shooter James Holmes walked into a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, dressed all in black with his face hidden behind a gas mask.\u00a0 At the time, many in the theater thought him to be a part of the show, which was the Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises.\u00a0 Their thoughts quickly turned to panic, however, when the masked man began shooting.<\/p>\n
Now, a year later, families and friends of those affected still seek answers as to why someone would commit such a heinous act.\u00a0 And while commemorative services have been taking place over the past several days, Holmes faces 24 counts of first-degree murder and 140 counts of attempted murder, two counts for each of the victims.<\/p>\n
Holmes is accused of killing 12 people and injuring 70 others, some permanently, like Stephon Moton, 19, who is paralyzed from the neck down and Ashley Moser, who is also paralyzed.\u00a0 Moser is doubly affected, as she was the mother of the youngest shooting victim, Veronica Moser-Sullivan, who was only six years old at the time.\u00a0 Holmes\u2019 lawyers contend that he was \u201cin the throes of a psychotic episode,\u201d but have provided few details about his mental state thus far.\u00a0 Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.<\/p>\n
What has come out in court, however, points to a deeply disturbing story.\u00a0 Those who knew Holmes when he was younger referred to him as \u201cwithdrawn\u201d and quiet.\u00a0 Oddly, when Holmes was arrested by police behind the Aurora theater just minutes after the massacre, he was found standing quietly by his car.<\/p>\n