Police detain man enraged over loss of child in movie theater shooting

By Will C. Holden

Aurora, CO (KDVR) — Police detained a man at the Aurora Medical Center who they said became enraged after learning his 6-year-old daughter had been killed in the Aurora movie theater shooting Friday morning.

The man’s daughter was attending the premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises” with his ex-wife, who is also in critical condition after being shot in the chest.The man, who asked not to be identified, spoke with KDVR’s Heidi Hemmat.

“I was called at 3 in the morning by a family member in New York telling me (my ex-wife) had been shot and they didn’t know where my child was,” the man said. “After three hours sitting at Children’s Hospital in Aurora … after being thrown in circles and told me I’d be able to see her in just a moment, I find out my child is dead.”

The man said Aurora Police were detaining him because of a comment he made. He said his only motivation when he got to the hospital was getting to his ex-wife.

“I had to make sure she was was okay,” the man said. “I’ve lost the rest of my family.”

When the man was told the suspected gunman, James Holmes, 24, of North Aurora, is still alive, he said, “hopefully not for long.”

“Hopefully some people at least have some common courtesy and take care of somebody who has the willpower to murder an innocent child and other innocent people,” he said. “Hopefully the law enforcement has some kind of courtesy and some kind of basic justice.”