Remembering the victims of the Colorado massacre at the premiere of “The Dark Knight rises”

In the worse mass murder spree in the nation’s history, innocent movie-goers lost their lives at the premiere of the Batman movie, “The Dark Knight rises.” James Holmes, the shooter, orchestrated the mass murders shortly after the movie began, injuring fifty-eight people and killing twelve. What should have been a great night turned into a deadly massacre that no one could ever imagine. Their only mistake was attending a movie with a mass murderer who cut it short.

In character as the ‘Joker’, he chose to take the lives of innocent victims, trying to kill as many people as possible. Since the Aurora, Colorado shooting at the premiere of Batman’s “The Dark Knight rises”, James Holmes, the shooter, has been the center of focus. Everything concerning James Holmes’ childhood, to his adult life has been the attention, except for the lives lost in this horrible massacre. This is a remembrance of the twelve innocent victims who lost their lives at the hands of a murderer. Their lives were cut short, but will never be forgotten.

This is a summary of the victims from July 20, 2012. They should not be remembered only as the victims of a mass murderer, but as the individuals that cherished the lives of many through their own personality, their own accomplishments, and their own life. Each individual possessed joy, love, and life. Instead of focusing on how they were killed or their last moment in life, I chose to purposely focus on their lives and who they were, without the last moment becoming what we remember.

James Holmes took the lives of innocent victims the day he decided to enter the movie theater. He may have taken their lives,but their memory is still here.

Veronica was a vibrant, little girl full of energy, who loved ice-cream and loved life. She had recently started swimming lessons, loved to read, dress up, and loved school. She was looking forward to starting the first grade since she loved attending school.

A kind-hearted man who had a ‘heart of gold’. A former resident of New Jersey, Alex recently graduated with a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Denver. His dream was to become a physical therapist after graduation. He always put everyone first and cherished everyone that he knew.

Cherished individual who was smart, comical, and loyal. Always full of joy and laughter. He was a happy individual who never held a grudge against anyone. He was celebrating his birthday and his first wedding anniversary at the premiere of Batman with friends.

Grew up in Springfield, Ohio and moved to Denver with his girlfriend to work at a representative of Target. He was planning to begin his life with his girlfriend and recently was planning to move back to Springfield, Ohio.

A very religious woman who was very close to God and her family. She worked at Subway while expecting to graduatefrom Aurora’s Community college in 2015.

Joined the U.S. Navy and was stationed at the 10th Fleet in Buckley AFB and was a dedicated sailor. He served one year and was following in his father’s shoes.

Gateway high school student who was a distributor for Organo Gold, a coffee company. He always had a positive smile and outlook on life.

Rebecca was a translator for the Air Force for fourteen years. She was fluent in the language Mandarin and a valuable asset to the Air Force. Originally from Quinlan, Texas, she was the mother of two girls who moved to Colorado.

Jon served the U.S. Navy for five years, served three tours, and wanted to eventually become a navy seal. Originally from Reno, Nevada, Jon moved to Aurora for work. He was the father of two young children.

Jesse was an Air Force reservist, who worked as cybersystems operator for the 310th Force support squadron in Colorado. He was originally from Thornton, Colorado and was considered an invaluable asset to the 310th family.

Gordon was a family-oriented man who had a sense of humor, was devoted to his family, and was a world-traveler. Originally form Waco, Texas, he was a real estate appraiser who graduated from Howard Payne university. He loved the outdoors and loved life. He was the father of four children.

An aspiring sports writer, wanting to get into television. She recently moved from Texas to Colorado, interning as a sports writer with Mile High sports radio in Denver. She had great hopes and a promising future and was determined to become a success in her field.

Life is not defined by death, but from the life a person lived. Death does not define who we are, who we were, or the life that we lived. Our lives are filled with many moments that created the person who family and friends loved unconditionally. Each person creates a legacy that will remain in the hearts of everyone they knew. Let the victims of this senseless crime be remembered by the legacy they created in their own lives, not by the legacy of James Holmes.