Hello, everybody. It was supposed to be a memorable night at the movies in screen #9 at the Century 16 Theaters in Aurora, Colorado outside Denver, but in a matter of moments, it would become a horrific nightmare.

At a midnight screening of the highly anticipated "The Dark Knight Rises", 24-year-old James Holmes dressed up at the Joker and opened fire inside the multiplex, claiming 12 lives and wounding 58 others; some of them are still in critical condition. His weapons of choice for what was one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history: An AR-15 assault rifle, a Remington 12-gauge shotgun, and a .40-caliber Glock with another one stashed in his car.

But before he set out to do his dastardly deed, Holmes booby-trapped a third-floor apartment, which is four miles from the theater. According to authorities, the four guns used in the massacre were bought in the last two months at Gander Mountain and Bass Pro Shops.

So...who is James Holmes? He was a 2010 University of California Riverside graduate with a degree in neuroscience who was about to go to graduate school before he withdrew. A clean-cut athlete who also excelled in cross-country running and soccer, this shy and intelligent person as we've just learned had a missing Facebook account.

Among the victims was aspiring sports journalist Jessica Ghawi, whose last tweet before her life would be taken was "movie doesn't start for 20 minutes."

As the country's (and the world's) hearts remain heavy over this horrendous turn of events, as far as the film is concerned? It was originally poised to set an opening weekend record currently held by "The Avengers", while the Paris premiere set for Friday has been canceled. Also, theaters have beefed up security in New York and other parts of the country in light of the shootings. Here in Alaska (where there also happens to be two Century 16 theaters in Anchorage), it was no big deal whatsoever. 

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. in light of Friday's tragedy delayed the weekend's box office figures for "Dark Knight Rises" from Sunday to Monday, and in a statement, said "Warner Bros. and the filmmakers are deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident. We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time."

Now Friday's shootings happened 13 years after the Columbine High School massacre in another Denver suburb, Littleton, except there is one comparison: The masterminds behind that, Dylan Harris and Eric Klebold, would later kill themselves. 

But this was not the first time movie theaters became unsuspecting killing fields. In 1988, a Stockton, California man was shot to death while waiting in line to see "Colors", which depicted gang life in South Central Los Angeles. Three years later in 1991, one man was killed at a New York theater showing "New Jack City", based on the real life of drug lord Nicky Barnes. And that same year during the opening weekend of "Boyz N the Hood", there were slews of actual violence happening at theaters nationwide; in Chicago, a 23-year-old man was killed.

And now over 20 years later, we have this surrounding "The Dark Knight Rises." I said in "Safe Route, Sleazy Route 2" (which was re-posted on this blog in 2008) that America, even in economic times, keep coming back for more and more violence, whether it's movies or video games. What happened early Friday morning in Aurora, Colorado is more than just a wake-up call, but a call to action. We go to the movies occasionally to draw ourselves into imaginary worlds, not draw ourselves into murder and mayhem. These days of course, I don't go often, but the shootings next time would think twice before I go out to the lobby and get myself some snacks. And of course, our hearts go out to the families of those 12 slain innocent souls while trying to be entertained by what was expected to be another box office blockbuster. So long and stay strong.