Holmes could have been stopped cold with some basic security measures

[rocktivity]

[center][/center]

A silent alarm would have told theater security that Holmes had opened an emergency exit door. And a surveillance camera would have spotted him propping the door open and leaving, which would have given security enough time to stop Holmes from returning with his car, putting on his gear, and re-entering the building.

And some theaters would rather ban costumes than invest in the most basic due diligence? I hope the Cinemark Century Aurora gets hit with a GIGANTIC civil suit!


rocktivity

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Last time I went to a movie, someone guarded the exit door

I assumed that was SOP.

[Swede]

2. Each theatre has at least 4 exits,this theatre was theatre number 8. There was also a theatre 9.

That's a lot of guards.

[rocktivity]

4. With cameras and alarms, guards can be sent where needed more efficiently.

And if one of them had removed the prop from the exit door, the story might have ended it right there.


rocktivity

[rfranklin]

3. "Security?" These operations are usually run by high school kids getting minimum wage...

I don't think they should have to do SWAT team work.

[Blue_Tires]

7. +1

Hell, when I was in HS I had a friend at a theater and he let me in free all the time...They don't care...

[Travis_0004]

5. A the therete I go to, the doors are not considered an emergency exit

Assuming nobody needs to use the restroom, we always use the exit in the theater. It gets us straight to the car and avoids a bunch of people. So you really can't put an alarm on it, since people use it all the time.

Also, even if they noticed the door popped open and closed it, he could have just walked in the front door. What is secutiry going to do against a gunman?

I don't think the movie theater has any liablity. Its not like they could foresee this coming and have prevented it.
Thats not saying we can't learn from this and improve security for the future.

[rocktivity]

11. For a one-screen theater, that makes sense

But this a large nine-theater complex with acreage, the equivalent of an office building. It ought to have a more comprehensive security setup.


rocktivity

[Travis_0004]

15. The theater I go to has 18 screens.

I'm not disagreeing with you that we can learn from this and change the way places operate, but I disagree with you in thinking the theater has liability for this shooting.

[doc03]

6. I don't know our mall security couldn't stop a six year old from throwing spit balls. n/t

[cthulu2016]

8. FFS... it's not an emergency exit

Have you ever been to a movie theatre?

[progressivebydesign]

9. and a minimum wage teen would be shot checking on the door.. accomplishing nothing.

in this case, it's a moot point. They would have sent a kid to check out the door, and with the film going on, no one would have heard the first shot. and he still would have done what he did. He probably came to an earlier show and propped the door open? They are just exits, doubt theyr'e the type with alarms on them.

No, I don't agree that the theatre needs a civil suit. God.. can anyone take personal responsibility anymore? You cannot plan for everything, and money cures nothing.

[qazplm]

10. this is a guy

with military grade weapons, body armor, and clearly intent on killing a lot of folks.

WTF would a security guard have done other than be the first person killed by this guy?

[SoCalDem]

13. shut the door & he can't get back in that way

The abrupt change in his plan could have been enough to disrupt the whole thing.. He planned on the darkness & noise as a distraction.. The lit up lobby and the need to enter from a public space could have put the kibosh on it..

[arely staircase]

20. stopped

Him while he was putting on his outfit.

[Ian David]

12. Ban costumes? That will really piss off HIM.

[Peepsite]

14. Bull

He could have killed as Many or more,by shooting up the box office line/parking lot/front of building,
Would not have stopped him cold,only changed the venue slightly.

[rocktivity]

16. True. But that WASN'T his plan.

He bought a ticket for the show without a wearing costume or carrying a weapon. From inside, he left through an emergency exit door, propped it open, walked to his car, drove it around to the propped door, put on his body armor, packed his weapons, went back inside, and started shooting. With a surveillance camera and an alarm, he COULD have been spotted, followed, and stopped on his way to his car -- THAT'S all I'm saying.


rocktivity

[TNLib]

17. Honestly in this situation I don't think a Rent a Cop would have helped

That guy was carrying Assault Rifles and was wearing body armor. I think he was prepared for some kind of confrontation. A security officer would have just gotten killed or hurt.

[rocktivity]

19. He put on his body armor, weapons and gear AFTER

Last edited Sat Jul 21, 2012, 06:15 PM - Edit history (2)

he propped the exit door of the theater, walked to his car, and drove it back to the door. That HAD to have taken a couple of minutes: had he been spotted on a surveillance camera, he could easily have followed and stopped before making it back to his car, never mind gearing up.


rocktivity

[WillowTree]

18. I'm always amused by these suggestions...

....that someone ought to have anticipated and protected against something that never would have occurred to any rational person.

Don't assume that these theatres run at enormous profit margins because they don't. Unless having people open those emergency exit doors when they shouldn't was a significant problem for the theatre, things like silent alarms and security cameras would have seemed to be unnecessary expenses. And security cameras in particular wouldn't have been of any use in a situation like this unless they had someone sitting and watching them the entire time that the theatre was open. In reality, most of those cameras in most places only run to tape which gets reviewed periodically or even only after something happens.

Or do you suppose that a theatre owner should have said to him/herself "Gee, maybe some night some guy will park a car full of weaponry out in back of the building and then walk around the front, purchase a ticket, go in and sit down, then get up and go out the emergency exit, propping it open, put on full body armor, gather his guns and tear gas canisters and then come back in and shoot the place up. Maybe I should pay for alarms and cameras and a herd of security guards just in case that happens........sometime."? Welcome to the $97.50 movie ticket (add $26 if you want popcorn)!

The fact of the matter is that we can't anticipate and prevent every horrible thing that some nutcase or just plain evil person might do. We just can't. I understand wanting to find a way to make everything safe and idyllic, but blaming others for not protecting us from things that we ourselves would never dream up is totally unreasonable. It would make as much sense to blame the moviegoers for patronizing a theatre that wasn't set-up like an armed fortress.

[rocktivity]

21. A MOVIE THEATER CHAIN that can't find an affordable VIDEO surveillance system

just isn't trying!

You're right -- that IS amusing!


rocktivity

[WillowTree]

22. Oh no. Not just a video system.

There also have to be people to monitor them continuously and other people, multiple other people in a cineplex this size, who don't have other duties to be the security guards who can race to the spot where the problem may be occurring on a moment's notice.

Again, if you see a surveillance camera out in back of a store or theatre or elsewhere, nine times out of ten it will only be taping activities that are occurring so that if there's a problem one day, they'll have the tape to help them ID and catch the perps. They DON'T have people monitoring those cameras. Heck, I even know of one relatively large discount clothing and housewares chain that has camera domes all over their stores and no one ever even looks at the tapes other than to find the theif when they know something in particular has been stolen.

Nice try, though.

[ellenfl]

23. put the monitors over the candy counter. everyone can then be monitors. eom

[stopbush]

27. Exactly. People tend to look at history as a straight line when viewing it in hindsight.

This happened, then this, then this. All they had to do was upset "this happened" and the other two things wouldn't have happened.

Right. It doesn't work that way.

The fact that this shooter parked his car near an exit and used that exit for access in and out of the theater suggests he had cased the theater and knew their security set up or lack thereof. If surveillance cameras or silent alarms were in place, he would have found out about them in his casing of the joint and made other plans, or decided on a different venue for his killing spree. Perhaps the killing could have been prevented at this location, but it would most likely have occurred elsewhere, and possibly with an even greater death toll.

The only surefire plan involves the shooter not being able to secure the weaponry and ammo, and that plan involves a time machine at this point in our country's history and its love of guns.

[Nye Bevan]

24. It's a theater. Not a secure military facility.

If someone has a gun and wants to shoot 50 or so people, they will find a way to do it. If you guard theatres like military bases, they will go to a crowded mall. Or a park. Or a beach. Or a crowded main street.

[Duer 157099]

25. Sure, But next time, when someone decides to just sit in the parking lot

with all those weapons and ammo, and decides to open fire upon the crowds exiting the theater, then what?

There are a million ways for nutjobs with weapons to do their damage. Let's maybe figure out why they are doing it first and try to address that?

[arcane1]

26. Do multiplexes even have security guards?

I've never seen one