0:00:02 > 0:00:04- POLICE RADIO: - 'Shooting at Century Theatres,
0:00:04 > 0:00:06'14300 East Alameda Avenue.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08'They're saying somebody's shooting in the auditorium.'
0:00:08 > 0:00:13Just after midnight on July 20th, in a small town in Midwest America,
0:00:13 > 0:00:15a masked gunman enters a theatre
0:00:15 > 0:00:18showing the premiere of the new Batman film.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21'..They're saying Theatre 9, where Batman was playing.'
0:00:21 > 0:00:24- NEWSREADER:- 'A local radio station is reporting that
0:00:24 > 0:00:26'some people have been killed, but there has
0:00:26 > 0:00:28'been no official confirmation.'
0:00:28 > 0:00:31But details soon become clear, and the reality is horrific.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35'We've got seven down in Theatre 9! Seven down!'
0:00:35 > 0:00:38'Here's what we know right now, as you said, the revised number -
0:00:38 > 0:00:40'12 dead, 50 injured,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43'the youngest victim just three months old.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45'The suspect is in custody right now.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47'We know he's a young man, 24 years old.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50'Eyewitnesses describe him as armed for battle...'
0:00:50 > 0:00:52You have the right to remain silent.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Armed for battle, the accused,
0:00:55 > 0:00:57an academically brilliant college dropout.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59..probable cause to believe you committed
0:00:59 > 0:01:01the offence of first degree murder,
0:01:01 > 0:01:03which is a class one felony under Colorado law...
0:01:03 > 0:01:05James Holmes, aged 24.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08He'd dyed his hair orange and when arrested,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11tells police he is The Joker.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13'We may never understand what leads anybody
0:01:13 > 0:01:17'to terrorise their fellow human beings like this.'
0:01:17 > 0:01:22Such violence, such evil is senseless.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24I'm Amal Fashanu, and this is me
0:01:24 > 0:01:26two nights before the Aurora shootings,
0:01:26 > 0:01:30at the London Leicester Square premiere of The Dark Knight Rises,
0:01:30 > 0:01:32where Batman, Christian Bale,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35and Catwoman, Anne Hathaway, are the stars of the red carpet.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Now, I've come 5,000 miles to Colorado to meet people
0:01:41 > 0:01:45who were inside Century 16 when the shooting started.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48God, there was like so much blood.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52It's not like what you see in Hollywood at all.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54'We have a party shot here.'
0:01:54 > 0:01:57I'll hear stories of incredible heroism.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01He completely protected me by telling me what I needed to do
0:02:01 > 0:02:03and pushing me under that seat further.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05He knew he was saving my life.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08I want to find out if young Americans think
0:02:08 > 0:02:11the time has come to tackle gun control.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13I think guns are great. SHE LAUGHS
0:02:13 > 0:02:16I want a gun. I'm going to go buy one right now, actually.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19And I'll tell the story of how the lives of James Holmes
0:02:19 > 0:02:22and one of his victims, Jessica Redfield - both 24 -
0:02:22 > 0:02:26collided on a night that saw the deaths of 10 Americans under the age of 30.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31'They're saying there's hundreds of people just running around.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35'Got a child victim. I need rescue at the back door of Theatre 9 now!'
0:03:02 > 0:03:06I've arrived in Colorado less than a week after the shootings.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11Right next to the state capital of Denver is the city of Aurora,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15population 325,000.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Aurora's main feature is the Century 16 theatre,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22and it's here that the shootings happened.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27No-one really expects to go to a cinema and end up being shot,
0:03:27 > 0:03:32or end up having a friend shot or a family member shot.
0:03:33 > 0:03:34'Century 16 is still cordoned off
0:03:34 > 0:03:38'so relatives and friends have created a makeshift memorial
0:03:38 > 0:03:40'on a patch of land close by.'
0:03:45 > 0:03:50'It's bare, raw, and the tributes are heartbreaking.'
0:03:50 > 0:03:53I don't know, this kind of reminds me of Princess Diana's memorial.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55I was really young when that happened,
0:03:55 > 0:03:59but this kind of brings back memories.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03'It hits me just how young they all are - 27, 24,
0:04:03 > 0:04:07'23, 18...even six years old.'
0:04:10 > 0:04:13- How old are you personally, if you don't mind me asking?- 28.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15- 28.- Yeah, cos I'm 23,
0:04:15 > 0:04:19and I kind of just find this just amazing, how everyone was so young.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21Yeah. That's what breaks your heart.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25You've got people here that hadn't even lived half their lives.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27Yeah, and it could have been anyone.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29- Exactly.- It could have been you, me...
0:04:29 > 0:04:32I think that people are very open here,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35and I don't have anything to do with it and they welcome me
0:04:35 > 0:04:37and I've been here and I kind of feel like one of them,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40And I think a lot of people knew each other, which is unfortunate
0:04:40 > 0:04:45as well, cos I guess they knew a lot of the people who passed away.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47Did you know anyone here?
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Yeah, I knew AJ.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51OK, a lot of people seemed to know AJ.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53What was he like as a person?
0:04:53 > 0:04:55He was always happy and smiling.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58If you were sad, he would always be the one who'd make your day.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Was he very popular?
0:05:01 > 0:05:03How do you feel about this?
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Well, I've known him since I was six years old, so...
0:05:08 > 0:05:10I'm really sorry.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12I'm so, so sorry.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14'A lot of these people have lost a lot of loved ones.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16'I've lost people that I've loved before,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19'so I can understand what they're going through,'
0:05:19 > 0:05:23and to be honest with you, this is just...
0:05:23 > 0:05:25it's so much more than a tragedy,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28that I can't even describe what it is.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33It's something just totally incoherent and it's just awful.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38First, let's spin back to 1987.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42James Holmes is born here in San Diego, Southern California.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47An exceptionally bright student, he leaves school with top grades.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50And our next speaker is James Holmes.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Aged 18, he's introduced to students at a summer camp.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57In personal life, he enjoys playing soccer and strategy games
0:05:57 > 0:05:59and his dream is to own a Slurpee machine.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02LAUGHTER
0:06:02 > 0:06:05These kids have been fun to work with this summer.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09But he's a serious student. His expertise is neuroscience.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12My mentor John Jacobson, who works in CNL,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15is a philosophical type of guy.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17He's interested in how we perceive reality...
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Described as academically "at the top of the top",
0:06:20 > 0:06:23James Holmes studies neuroscience
0:06:23 > 0:06:25at the University of California, Riverside.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33James Holmes wouldn't have known Jessica Redfield,
0:06:33 > 0:06:37who was taking the first tentative steps on her chosen career.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39She too was attending a university,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41while at the same time trying to break into
0:06:41 > 0:06:44her dream career of sports journalism.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47She'd landed an internship at a cable TV station
0:06:47 > 0:06:50and was sent out to interview an ice hockey star.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52And what about players coming in and out
0:06:52 > 0:06:53throughout the entire season?
0:06:53 > 0:06:55You get the guys coming down from the NHL,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57you are going to have guys coming in from the Coyotes.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00How does that change the dynamics of the team?
0:07:00 > 0:07:03The intern's outtakes were posted on YouTube.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07SHE LAUGHS
0:07:07 > 0:07:08Here we go.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10Or not!
0:07:10 > 0:07:12Can we please see...?
0:07:12 > 0:07:13Can we please...?
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Jessica was determined that one day she would make it to the top.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21And clearly, she was an instant hit with the hockey team.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23MIMES TO MUSIC
0:07:23 > 0:07:26# Like baby, baby, baby, no
0:07:26 > 0:07:29# Like baby, baby, baby, oh
0:07:29 > 0:07:33# Thought you'd always be mine... #
0:07:33 > 0:07:35After we modify their perception of time,
0:07:35 > 0:07:39we completely remove the delay, and this causes the time illusion.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42James Holmes graduates with a bachelor's degree,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45but finding work is difficult.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48He gets a part-time job at McDonald's,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51then moves 1,000 miles east to Denver, Colorado
0:07:51 > 0:07:53to start a PhD in neuroscience.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56But he struggles and quits in early June.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Out of college, out of a job
0:07:59 > 0:08:01and getting deep into prescription drugs,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05Holmes starts searching the internet for explosives and ammunition.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09On June 25, he fills out an application form to join a gun club.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17'I've tracked down the club, 30 miles east of town.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19'The owner has agreed to meet me,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22'and for the first time publicly,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25'show me the application form that James Holmes submitted.'
0:08:25 > 0:08:27My name's Amal.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Amal? Glad to meet you, Amal.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32This is the actual application that we received from him,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35with his name, address, all the general information on it,
0:08:35 > 0:08:37and his parents' address in San Diego.
0:08:37 > 0:08:38When I called James Holmes,
0:08:38 > 0:08:43the problem was that when I called him, he had this rather guttural
0:08:43 > 0:08:47bizarre message on his answering machine,
0:08:47 > 0:08:51that was indistinguishable, rambling, very weird, at best bizarre.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56And so I left a message for him anyway figuring, who knows,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59maybe somebody did it and he doesn't know it's there.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03And he didn't call back, so I ended up calling the next day and the next day.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06So by the third day, my attitude was kind of like, you know,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09this is strange and bizarre - you're not calling me back,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13you should be - you sent me an application, you know, this isn't right.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15So I just simply told the staff,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18"Look, this guy's not scheduled, he's not supposed to be here.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21"if he shows, then please set him aside, put him there,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24"don't process him until I get a chance to talk to him
0:09:24 > 0:09:25"and find out who and what he is."
0:09:25 > 0:09:29Around the same time, just six weeks before the Batman shootings,
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Jessica Redfield is in Toronto
0:09:31 > 0:09:34visiting a shopping mall when panic breaks out.
0:09:34 > 0:09:35Get out of the mall, please!
0:09:35 > 0:09:39'One person was killed and seven others injured in a shooting
0:09:39 > 0:09:42'in one of Canada's busiest shopping centres.'
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Ever the journalist,
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Jessica goes online to tell the world what's happened.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49"I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52"I saw terror on the bystanders' faces.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57"I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change."
0:09:57 > 0:10:01She said it was definitely a horrific experience and scary.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03'In Aurora, I meet Harmony Johnson,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06'who went to hockey matches with Jessica.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09'She believes that Jessica's escape from the Toronto shooting
0:10:09 > 0:10:12'had given her a fresh perspective.'
0:10:12 > 0:10:14She didn't let it affect her.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19She didn't let, like, her experience
0:10:19 > 0:10:24keep her a victim, or make her afraid of living life at all.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36'100 miles east of Denver, high in the Rocky Mountains,
0:10:36 > 0:10:38'I've come to the old mining town of Leadville
0:10:38 > 0:10:41'to check out their annual Boom Day parade.'
0:10:42 > 0:10:43Hello!
0:10:43 > 0:10:45'It's a chance to find out if Aurora
0:10:45 > 0:10:48'has changed young Americans' views on guns.'
0:10:50 > 0:10:53'The right to bear arms is a key part of the US constitution,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57'and in Leadville, that's something they take very seriously.'
0:10:59 > 0:11:01It seems like a really close-knit community.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03It's extremely close.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06'But I'm still surprised to find
0:11:06 > 0:11:09'that a street gun display is part of the family entertainment here.'
0:11:09 > 0:11:11GUNSHOTS
0:11:16 > 0:11:17Oh, my God!
0:11:23 > 0:11:25I'm so scared.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29If I was a kid, I'd be petrified.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32They seem pretty relaxed compared to me.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41'In this part of the country,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44'owning and using guns is an important tradition.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47'But do young Americans here feel the same?'
0:11:47 > 0:11:49I personally own three guns,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52and I think it's important to me to have a gun in my house,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56because I'm a single person, I live in Boulder,
0:11:56 > 0:12:00which is a secure town, but my house has been broken into before.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03I come from a very rural community out in the woods,
0:12:03 > 0:12:07so I was brought up with guns being a tool for hunting animals
0:12:07 > 0:12:09and providing food for families.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11'They're part of American culture,'
0:12:11 > 0:12:13and have been and continue and will be.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16I want a gun. I'm going to go buy one right now, actually.
0:12:16 > 0:12:17- Oh, really?- Yeah.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19I already own an AR-15,
0:12:19 > 0:12:21but I'm going to go buy another, a pistol.
0:12:21 > 0:12:22I'm going to go buy a pistol today.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24I think guns are great. SHE LAUGHS
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Everybody has the right to own weapons.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30If they want to have guns, by all means, own them.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33We're Americans. We should be able to bear arms,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35or why are you an American?
0:12:38 > 0:12:40'I've found just one person here who has reservations
0:12:40 > 0:12:42'about gun ownership.'
0:12:42 > 0:12:45I do think guns are important, but I kind of think
0:12:45 > 0:12:48that I would be contradictory to most people you would ask here.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50I think that they shouldn't be in the home.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54I think that owning them and allowing them to be everywhere
0:12:54 > 0:12:58just perpetuates more violence and I'm not a huge supporter of it.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Hey, Marshal! Heard you've been looking for us.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03Get out of our way!
0:13:03 > 0:13:05We've got a delivery to make to the bank,
0:13:05 > 0:13:07and I'm not going to put up with no shenanigans.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Back off!
0:13:09 > 0:13:11The Leadville Old West Reenactment Society
0:13:11 > 0:13:15stages a mock shoot-out as part of the parade...
0:13:15 > 0:13:17THEY SHOUT
0:13:17 > 0:13:19..and people here love it.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22GUNFIRE
0:13:27 > 0:13:30- I'll take this from you, sir. - No! Ughhh.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33CHEERING
0:13:33 > 0:13:36ANNOUNCER: 'Well, that's the end of the OK Corral, my friends.'
0:13:40 > 0:13:42It's all good clean fun.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Guns don't kill people.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47- It's the people behind the guns that cause the damage.- That's it.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52So had the shooting in Aurora only two weeks before
0:13:52 > 0:13:55changed the views of these young people?
0:13:55 > 0:13:59No, it hasn't. I think that, like I said with gun safety,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02it's a big deal. If you own a gun, you should be responsible.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06There's no way that they can regulate for someone who has a problem.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09There are a lot of crazy people in the world doing a lot of crazy
0:14:09 > 0:14:12things, and so it's hard to single out and say this is the reason
0:14:12 > 0:14:15that guns should be banned or outlawed or something like that.
0:14:15 > 0:14:20Some think the real lesson of Aurora is that people need more guns.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22We should have them for our protection.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27If everyone in the theatre had a gun on their person,
0:14:27 > 0:14:29it would've never happened.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51On July 5, Jessica Redfield tweets
0:14:51 > 0:14:54that she is celebrating her first year in Denver.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57"Can't believe I moved to Colorado a year ago today.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00"Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me along the way.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02"It's been a fun journey so far."
0:15:02 > 0:15:07And on July 16, she has some personal good news to share.
0:15:07 > 0:15:08"It's official.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11"I'm going to be a godmother on August 6th at 2pm.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13"Poor kid doesn't know what he's in for."
0:15:14 > 0:15:17James Holmes isn't on Twitter or Facebook.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Having dropped out of his PhD course,
0:15:19 > 0:15:23he's looking for sex and speaking to strangers on Adult FriendFinder.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27It seems he had become obsessed with the Batman films.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31He dyes his hair orange and appears to be modelling himself
0:15:31 > 0:15:34on one of the series' key characters,
0:15:34 > 0:15:36the crazed gunman, The Joker.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Come on. Come on. I want you to do it.
0:15:41 > 0:15:42I want you to do it. Come on!
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Throughout this summer,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50James Holmes manages to buy 6,000 rounds of ammunition online.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53And with no criminal record
0:15:53 > 0:15:56and a current Colorado driving licence,
0:15:56 > 0:15:58he is able to buy four guns at specialist stores in Aurora,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01including this one.
0:16:08 > 0:16:09An official Batman hat!
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Around the world, for many young people,
0:16:12 > 0:16:16premieres of The Dark Knight Rises means Batman Fever -
0:16:16 > 0:16:19costumes, souvenirs and Batmobiles.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22CROWD CHEERS
0:16:22 > 0:16:27In Aurora, I find four people who'd bought tickets for the premiere,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30a night filled with excitement and anticipation.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35Kevin Lam, aged 18, a computer software design student,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39goes to the movie with his girlfriend Arianne.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41I'd never been to a movie premiere before.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44So this was already an amazing thing, going with my girlfriend.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Jansen Young, aged 21, heads to the cinema
0:16:47 > 0:16:49with her boyfriend Jon Blunk,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52after thinking about staying in for the night.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54That night he was really tired,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57and we had almost discussed not going, but then we were like,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59"No, we already got the tickets, let's go."
0:16:59 > 0:17:03And so, we were tired, but we were still excited to see the movie,
0:17:03 > 0:17:05because we'd been excited for it, you know, for a while.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09Tony Hoang, aged 18, a college student.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13With a group of friends, he arrives early to be sure of a seat.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15It was the Batman premiere,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18and it was just so exciting that night,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21and I really wanted to see it.
0:17:21 > 0:17:26Harmony Johnson, 23, a single mum being treated for cancer.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30With two friends, she joins a crowd of 200 people.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33We were excited, we were pumped up, everybody was rooting,
0:17:33 > 0:17:37people had their face painted, people had their hair coloured,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41people were wearing Batman shirts and costumes,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44and just having a great time.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Just, I don't know, it was like going to a party.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51Jessica Redfield has her ticket,
0:17:51 > 0:17:55but tweets that she's had a hard time finding someone to go with.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57"Never thought I'd have to coerce a guy into seeing
0:17:57 > 0:18:00"the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises with me."
0:18:00 > 0:18:04Her excitement is clear as the pre-film trailers start.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06"Movie doesn't start for 20 minutes!"
0:18:07 > 0:18:10I remember my friends telling me that this
0:18:10 > 0:18:12is going to be the best night ever.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15LOUD, MUFFLED MUSIC
0:18:15 > 0:18:18James Holmes leaves his flat for the movie,
0:18:18 > 0:18:22but keeps music blaring so loudly, it disturbs the neighbours.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29He drives to Century 16 with a car full of guns and ammunition.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32The midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises
0:18:32 > 0:18:34is being shown on Screen 9,
0:18:34 > 0:18:36but so many people have turned up,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38they decide to show it on Screen 8 as well.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45Unusually, James Holmes parks at the back of the multiplex.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50Inside, he manages to get a front row seat in Screen 9.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Once the film begins, Holmes quietly gets up
0:18:53 > 0:18:55and heads for the rear emergency exit door.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01He goes to his car, where he puts on a helmet, gas mask,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03bulletproof vest and leggings,
0:19:03 > 0:19:05And then picks up gas canisters,
0:19:05 > 0:19:10his shotgun, handgun and a semi-automatic rifle.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13He returns via the emergency exit door,
0:19:13 > 0:19:14which he left propped open,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16and heads back to Theatre 9.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Someone walked in the right hand corner by the screen,
0:19:21 > 0:19:23that threw something up behind us
0:19:23 > 0:19:25and it landed in, like, the left back corner
0:19:25 > 0:19:28and it smoked the entire way up there, and I watched it
0:19:28 > 0:19:32and then when it went 'Boom', immediately it was like,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34"Whoa, whoa, whoa! That's not part of this."
0:19:34 > 0:19:38At first, I thought it was some kind of joke.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41And then the smoke canisters exploded and smoke was coming out.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46I was in Theatre 8 when everything was going on in Theatre 9.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48They were screaming from the right
0:19:48 > 0:19:50that there was smoke coming over
0:19:50 > 0:19:54and I looked over and I thought,
0:19:54 > 0:19:59"They don't put dry ice in a movie theatre,
0:19:59 > 0:20:01"but is it part of the movie?"
0:20:01 > 0:20:04And then next, I see flashes.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07And I looked into the flashes...
0:20:07 > 0:20:10four shots in.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13I stared in the muzzle to see the flash. I stared at it.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15My friend pushed me down
0:20:15 > 0:20:17and told me to duck, and I did.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20And that's when I realised it wasn't fireworks or anything.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21It was gunshots.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24And the bullets were going through the walls?
0:20:24 > 0:20:26They were actually going through the walls!
0:20:26 > 0:20:29POLICE RECORDING: '451, we have a gunshot here...'
0:20:29 > 0:20:32Jansen Young's boyfriend, Jon Blunk,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35immediately understands what's happening.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38He pushed me down and said, "Jansen, get down and stay down,"
0:20:38 > 0:20:42and pushed me down, like, behind the seats and I was like, "Why?"
0:20:42 > 0:20:45And he pushed me down further onto my stomach
0:20:45 > 0:20:47and pushed me under the seats, and said,
0:20:47 > 0:20:51"Because there's a man in the movie theatre shooting people."
0:20:51 > 0:20:54And by that point, I could hear multiple gun shots that had gone off.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Bang! Bang! Bang!
0:20:57 > 0:20:58And...
0:21:00 > 0:21:02..the screams were unreal.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05The person above me was screaming, "I've been shot! I've been shot!"
0:21:05 > 0:21:07and even still, I was thinking, "This has got to be a joke.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09"Everybody's acting. Everybody's on this.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12"They're getting shot with something they don't think is bullets.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14"This has got to be a joke."
0:21:14 > 0:21:18It was a constant, just non-stop firing.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20But then, the firing does stop.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23The gunman's semi-automatic jams.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26And then, all of a sudden, it was quiet.
0:21:26 > 0:21:27And, uh...
0:21:27 > 0:21:31we just knew that we had to run during that time,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34because it seemed like he was reloading.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36I jumped over some friends. I told them,
0:21:36 > 0:21:38"Guys, we've got to go. Run! Run!"
0:21:38 > 0:21:42The gunman, it turns out, is no professional.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46His confusion and delay over changing weapons means many people escape.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49But they have witnessed unimaginable horror.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53'I've got seven down in Theatre 9! Seven down!'
0:21:53 > 0:21:57'Cruiser 10, I need a medical crew. I've got one victim eviscerated.
0:21:57 > 0:21:58'I've got a child victim.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01'I need rescue at the back door of Theatre 9 now!'
0:22:01 > 0:22:06And I could just feel blood running down from the seat above me.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11My friend...the last thing I heard her say, "I got shot."
0:22:11 > 0:22:14And I remember rolling down around on her blood.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18There was man running over the seats yelling, "Jessie's been shot, Jessie's been shot!"
0:22:18 > 0:22:22and he stepped on my head on the way out
0:22:22 > 0:22:26and pushed my face more into this blood that kept running down,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28and it was running all over my back.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32'We've got another person outside, shot in the leg. A female.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36'I've got people running out of the theatre that are shot.'
0:22:36 > 0:22:39I could hear someone breathing on my left side.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41Like, laboured breaths.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44And I...that's when I think I knew that Jon had been shot.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49People were just dragging and crawling
0:22:49 > 0:22:52and running and screaming.
0:22:54 > 0:22:55SHE SOBS
0:22:55 > 0:22:59It was the most horrific thing I'd ever seen.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05God, there was, like, so much blood.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08It...it's not like what you see in Hollywood at all.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14I kind of slid out from under the seats and Jon was unresponsive.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17I was shaking him and saying, "Jon, come on, we've got to go."
0:23:17 > 0:23:19But where is the gunman?
0:23:19 > 0:23:23Afraid he's still at large, Jansen Young hides behind a rubbish bin.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27I heard the police scream, "Freeze!" to someone,
0:23:27 > 0:23:29and even then, I didn't feel safe.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33I heard people screaming in the back that they got him back there.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36'Yes, we've got rifles, gas masks.
0:23:36 > 0:23:37'He's detained right now.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39'I've got an open door going into the theatre.'
0:23:39 > 0:23:42It was unreal. The people that...
0:23:44 > 0:23:46..young people my age...
0:23:48 > 0:23:50..there was kids there my son's age.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Teenagers, and they were shot and they were covered in blood
0:24:00 > 0:24:02and you don't...
0:24:04 > 0:24:07..you don't see that in the movies.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09And we were in the movies.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14RADIO: 'I need a marked car, behind the theatre, Sable side.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16'The suspect in a gas mask.'
0:24:16 > 0:24:19'OK, hold that position. Hold your suspect.'
0:24:19 > 0:24:24Surrendering without a fight, police discover a young man with dyed orange hair,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27staring blankly, declaring, "I am the Joker".
0:24:27 > 0:24:31Across town, the University of Colorado Hospital
0:24:31 > 0:24:33goes into its disaster plan.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35Physician, Dr Camilla Sasson, is on duty,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39and tells me how the hospital dealt with the incoming casualties.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44We saw 23 patients, total, and they came in mostly through police cars.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46And I would say our first nine, ten patients that we saw
0:24:46 > 0:24:48were very critically injured.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52We had gunshot wounds to the head, to the chest, to the belly.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54You know, I've been doing this for about 10 years,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57and they were some of the most horrific wounds I've ever seen.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00It takes a lot to do that to an emergency room doctor.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02This is actually the ambulance bay
0:25:02 > 0:25:05where all of our patients were coming in.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07So it was just police car after police car
0:25:07 > 0:25:09that was coming in that night.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12We would literally bring a stretcher out right up to here,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15move it out to the little ambulance bay right here,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18and then take the body out of the back of the police officer's car,
0:25:18 > 0:25:19put it on the stretcher.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23Myself and Dr Block would assess the patients right here.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26- Just two of you?- Just two of us would actually assess them coming in.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30We'd look and see how critically injured they were and then they'd go to the left here,
0:25:30 > 0:25:32which is our resuscitation bay,
0:25:32 > 0:25:35or to this little sort of MASH unit that we had created,
0:25:35 > 0:25:36where all of our very critically ill,
0:25:36 > 0:25:40but maybe didn't need to put on a ventilator patients would stay.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43As an ER doc, I'm sick and tired of taking care of gunshot wound victims.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46It's really hard to have to take care of patients time and time again,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49when we know that, you know, they weren't doing anything wrong.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52The fact we were able to keep 22 of these victims alive,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54to me, is really a miracle.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59Back in the cinema, it's selfless heroism that saves lives.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Four men die because they put their bodies
0:26:01 > 0:26:04between the gunman and their girlfriends.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06One of them is Jonathan Blunk.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09He completely protected me by telling me what I needed to do
0:26:09 > 0:26:12and pushing me under that seat further.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14He knew he was saving my life.
0:26:14 > 0:26:19AJ loved to make people smile, no matter what mood they were in.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23He would always find a way to do it. He was a really amazing guy.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25Jessica Redfield, aged 24,
0:26:25 > 0:26:29the intern who dreamed of being a national sports broadcaster,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32dies instantly from gunshot wounds.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35And what about players coming in now through the entire season?
0:26:35 > 0:26:37You think the guys coming down from the NHL,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40you're going to have guys coming in from the Coyotes,
0:26:40 > 0:26:42how does that change the dynamic of the team?
0:26:54 > 0:26:56At the University of Denver,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58there's a memorial to one of their students, Alex Teves,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01another of Holmes' victims.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10I'm here to meet one of Alex's former tutors, Max Wachtel.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14So it's the neo-personality inventory.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17'He's a leading forensic psychologist
0:27:17 > 0:27:21'who assesses mental health in cases of serious crime.'
0:27:21 > 0:27:23- Nice to meet you. - Hi, nice to meet you too.
0:27:23 > 0:27:29'I want to find out what turns a bright college boy like Holmes into a mass murderer.'
0:27:29 > 0:27:33A lot of times, they tend to have some sort of an undiagnosed
0:27:33 > 0:27:35mental illness.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37Usually it is something like
0:27:37 > 0:27:40depression or bipolar disorder,
0:27:40 > 0:27:45It doesn't tend to be a psychotic disorder like schizophrenia.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48And why is it that they're often young men?
0:27:48 > 0:27:55I think as a society, in the US, males are trained to be unemotional,
0:27:55 > 0:28:00and to deal with any sort of problems on their own, without talking about it.
0:28:00 > 0:28:07That ends up a lot of times leading to anger, frustration, rage.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09You know, thoughts of vengeance.
0:28:09 > 0:28:14Is there anything different or special in James Holmes' profile
0:28:14 > 0:28:16that would make him likely to be a killer one day?
0:28:16 > 0:28:20You know, honestly, no. Everything that we know about him so far
0:28:20 > 0:28:21is that he was kind of a normal kid.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24Maybe a little bit quirky. You know, I think he was smart.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27He may have had a little bit of trouble relating to other people because of that.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31But nothing out of the ordinary.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40It seems like the kind of picture you would see taken from a webcam.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42'Max also gives me his take
0:28:42 > 0:28:45'on the few pictures we have of James Holmes.'
0:28:45 > 0:28:49In retrospect, you see the cocky expression, the red hair.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52It seems like a fairly normal kind of picture, though,
0:28:52 > 0:28:54that you would see on Facebook or Twitter, I think.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57This picture, he's got that raised eyebrow,
0:28:57 > 0:28:59he's got the smirk on his face.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01That very intense stare.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04I'd have to wonder what's going through his mind there.
0:29:04 > 0:29:09This was a picture from an adult website he had joined.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12He'd Photoshopped this woman licking him.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15Certainly a fairly disturbing image.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18He's got that intense look on his face again.
0:29:18 > 0:29:24In court, the crazy hair, the jail scrubs...
0:29:24 > 0:29:26He's kind of blankly staring.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29His demeanour in court would be referred to
0:29:29 > 0:29:31as having "flat affect", or "flat emotion",
0:29:31 > 0:29:33meaning, just nothing there.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35- Emotionless.- Emotionless.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39You do see this presentation in some people who have mental illness.
0:29:39 > 0:29:44I think a lot of people are concerned that he's faking this,
0:29:44 > 0:29:47and that's certainly possible.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49In custody, Holmes apparently confesses to a scheme
0:29:49 > 0:29:54that bears the hallmarks of his comic villain hero, The Joker.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56He's booby-trapped his apartment
0:29:56 > 0:29:58with 10 gallons of petrol and 30 grenades.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01Police also find a Batman mask.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15It's much easier to buy guns in the US than it is back home,
0:30:15 > 0:30:19but I want to find out just how easy.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28Jake Meyers runs Rocky Mountain Guns and Ammo.
0:30:30 > 0:30:31Not a place used by Holmes.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33- Hi!- Hi, how's it going?
0:30:33 > 0:30:35Good, thanks. Nice to meet you. My name's Amal.
0:30:35 > 0:30:36I'm Jake. How's it going?
0:30:36 > 0:30:41'If Barack Obama is looking for votes, he won't find them here.'
0:30:41 > 0:30:43This one holds 15 rounds.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46A lot of people like this for carrying concealed purposes,
0:30:46 > 0:30:47because it's lightweight.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49It's made of, basically, plastic.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53'Aurora has had an effect here, but not quite what I was expecting.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57'Jake told me that in the days after the shooting, sales had tripled.'
0:30:57 > 0:31:00The first couple days, I did see a real big influx in gun sales,
0:31:00 > 0:31:04but what I mostly saw was people wanting to take classes
0:31:04 > 0:31:07and learn how to use a firearm or protect themselves.
0:31:07 > 0:31:08The day after the shooting, actually,
0:31:08 > 0:31:12- we had about 20 people lined up outside waiting to take classes.- Wow.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17'So if I wanted to buy a gun, how easy would it be?'
0:31:17 > 0:31:18Jake, today I've brought my passport,
0:31:18 > 0:31:21and I wanted to know if I could just come here and buy a gun.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23You wouldn't be able to use just your passport.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26You'd have to have some sort of state identification card,
0:31:26 > 0:31:28either ID or driver's licence.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30So if I was American, and I had a driver's licence,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32I could just come into the store...
0:31:32 > 0:31:35Yeah, you'd have to have a driver's licence
0:31:35 > 0:31:38- or identification card from this state.- OK.
0:31:38 > 0:31:39Um, and it's basically, in this state,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42- we do what's called an InstaCheck.- OK.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45It takes anywhere between about five minutes to an hour
0:31:45 > 0:31:47- to do a background check.- OK.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49They do a federal background check on you
0:31:49 > 0:31:51to make sure you have no felonies,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54you're not running from the military, or something like that.
0:31:54 > 0:31:55Yeah!
0:31:55 > 0:31:58And then they send me back either an approval or a denial,
0:31:58 > 0:32:00and if you get approved,
0:32:00 > 0:32:02you walk out of the store that day with a firearm.
0:32:07 > 0:32:12But I find that not everyone in this state loves guns.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16In April 1999, a school just 20 miles from Aurora
0:32:16 > 0:32:19would become forever linked with gun crime.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Its name? Columbine.
0:32:27 > 0:32:2912 students and one teacher were killed
0:32:29 > 0:32:34when two high school seniors carried out a carefully planned attack.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36It was captured on the school's CCTV.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40OPERATOR: 'Jefferson County 911?'
0:32:40 > 0:32:41'I'm a teacher at Columbine High School.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44'There is a student here with a gun.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48'The school is in a panic, and I'm in the library.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50- SHE SHOUTS - 'Students, down under the tables!
0:32:50 > 0:32:52'Kids, under the tables!'
0:32:53 > 0:32:55'Who is the student, ma'am?'
0:32:55 > 0:32:58- 'I do not know who the student is.' - 'OK.'
0:32:58 > 0:33:00'I saw a student outside... Oh, dear God!'
0:33:08 > 0:33:10'I want to hear from young people
0:33:10 > 0:33:14'who had picked up their lives after such a terrible experience.'
0:33:14 > 0:33:17- Hi, Lindsey!- Hi, Amal! Nice to meet you.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20'Lindsey Benge survived the Columbine massacre,
0:33:20 > 0:33:23'but two of her close friends, Daniel Mauser and Rachel Scott,
0:33:23 > 0:33:26'weren't so lucky.'
0:33:26 > 0:33:28The worst was finding out, you know,
0:33:28 > 0:33:30that you had the friends who passed away.
0:33:30 > 0:33:35For me personally, Dan and Rachel, specifically.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37And then kind of going through that.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39There's that whole denial phase
0:33:39 > 0:33:40where it just doesn't make sense.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43And you can't wrap your mind around it.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47And then you're just angry and frustrated,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50and you're going through all the stages of grief,
0:33:50 > 0:33:52but you don't know how to handle it.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55And I think at that age, you shouldn't know how to handle it.
0:33:55 > 0:34:00What do you think about what's just happened a week ago in Aurora?
0:34:00 > 0:34:03I mean, it seems to me pretty similar.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07Yeah. I mean it's...it's surreal.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10It's almost unfathomable
0:34:10 > 0:34:11that it keeps happening.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13It's like somebody keeps hitting the rewind button
0:34:13 > 0:34:16and all of a sudden, you're seeing shots of memorials
0:34:16 > 0:34:21and shots of family members trying to find their loved ones.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24And, it's just...it's absolutely devastating.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30Why do you think it is? Why here? Why again?
0:34:30 > 0:34:31I think because it can.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35Everybody wants to pinpoint one specific reason why,
0:34:35 > 0:34:38and there's never just one single reason.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40You know...
0:34:40 > 0:34:45Guns are far too accessible in the States.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49And, unfortunately, it's become such a polarising subject
0:34:49 > 0:34:53that anytime somebody wants to have a reasonable, rational conversation
0:34:53 > 0:34:55about gun control,
0:34:55 > 0:34:57it's like people stick their fingers in their ears
0:34:57 > 0:34:59and they don't want to hear it.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06'I've come to see the memorial near the school.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12'It's now a tragic symbol of how little America has moved
0:35:12 > 0:35:14'on the guns issue in the last decade.'
0:35:16 > 0:35:18I don't really know if America
0:35:18 > 0:35:21is learning a lesson or not, in regards to guns.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25If you see this and you see Aurora
0:35:25 > 0:35:29and you see all the suffering, and how everyone is distraught,
0:35:29 > 0:35:30it's just not right.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32It's just not fair.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34I don't really know to what extent
0:35:34 > 0:35:37America WILL ever change or IS going to change.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40I really don't know.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45Daniel Mauser's father, Tom,
0:35:45 > 0:35:47has spent the last decade campaigning for tighter gun laws
0:35:47 > 0:35:50in memory of his son.
0:35:50 > 0:35:55He's been shocked by the level of opposition and abuse he's faced.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00I ask people to think how they would feel
0:36:00 > 0:36:02if it happened to their child.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04You have to imagine that,
0:36:04 > 0:36:06otherwise you won't really see
0:36:06 > 0:36:08what the impact of guns is.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11In terms of it being part of our culture,
0:36:11 > 0:36:14I think there is a sense of...you know,
0:36:14 > 0:36:18that sense of having a right to bear arms.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21But it can't be an absolute right.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23There have to be restrictions.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26We have to keep guns away from people who shouldn't have guns.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29We shouldn't be giving this kind of firepower
0:36:29 > 0:36:31to people who are mentally disturbed.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34How difficult has it been to campaign?
0:36:34 > 0:36:35It is very difficult.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39We're fighting a lobby, the gun lobby, that is so powerful.
0:36:39 > 0:36:45It's one of the top two lobbies, strongest lobbies, in Washington DC.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47What kind of responses have you had
0:36:47 > 0:36:50from the more extreme gun campaigners?
0:36:50 > 0:36:51It's been difficult at times.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53You find yourself in America,
0:36:53 > 0:36:56when you are a gun control advocate, you find out quickly -
0:36:56 > 0:36:58especially a very public one like me -
0:36:58 > 0:37:02that you'll face some pretty strong and nasty opposition.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04I've had people write to me and say,
0:37:04 > 0:37:06"You're campaigning against guns
0:37:06 > 0:37:09"on the grave and the corpse of your son."
0:37:09 > 0:37:12That's the kind of thing they say.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17Um... I mean, it's despicable stuff,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20but you know, I can't let that get to me.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22I can't let them intimidate me.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24I have to keep doing what I'm doing.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42I find it confusing that despite so many gun deaths in America -
0:37:42 > 0:37:48more than 31,000 in 2009 alone - guns seem more popular than ever.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51So I've come back to Lead Valley Gun Club,
0:37:51 > 0:37:54the place James Holmes tried to join, to speak to the owner,
0:37:54 > 0:37:58a man who trains people how to fire guns properly.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00This is just a representation of some of the firearms
0:38:00 > 0:38:02that are available in the United States...
0:38:02 > 0:38:06'This is the closest I have ever been to guns and firearms.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08'But there's more to come.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12'Glenn believes the only way I can really start to understand guns
0:38:12 > 0:38:13'is to fire one.'
0:38:13 > 0:38:17A .22, Western-style of the original Western revolvers,
0:38:17 > 0:38:19but this is a .22, one of the firearms you will be firing.
0:38:19 > 0:38:24This is a 38-calibre revolver, which is a double action revolver,
0:38:24 > 0:38:26which is the firearm that was used by most police officers
0:38:26 > 0:38:28and people in law enforcement
0:38:28 > 0:38:32all the way up until probably the mid-to-late '80s.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36So if I just put that in and fired it would literally...
0:38:36 > 0:38:39If it had ammo in it, yes. You put it in and pull the trigger.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41It'd kill someone.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45- Any firearm, no matter how small, has that capability.- Yeah.
0:38:45 > 0:38:46And then the last one here,
0:38:46 > 0:38:51this is a 9-millimetre pistol that is available.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55This is the other firearm you will be firing today
0:38:55 > 0:38:57that is made by Smith & Wesson.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01There is basically three safety rules that you follow at all times.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04The first one is, always keep a gun pointed in a safe direction.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07Never, never allow the muzzle to point to anything
0:39:07 > 0:39:08that you do not want destroyed.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11Number two rule, always keep the finger off the trigger
0:39:11 > 0:39:13until you are ready to fire.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17And always keep the gun unloaded until ready for use is the third main safety rule.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19Well, I think I'm ready.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23It'll be a lot of fun. You'll find out after you fire it. It's a lot of fun.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27This club is for responsible gun owners
0:39:27 > 0:39:30and used by many young, experienced shooters.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34Usually we go up to the mountains where there's a national forest
0:39:34 > 0:39:38where you are able to shoot as long as you are away from the road, with a proper back stop behind you.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42It's just a pure competition sport for me. It's just like with any other sport,
0:39:42 > 0:39:46basketball, football, it's just something you want to get good at.
0:39:46 > 0:39:47This gun right here is mine.
0:39:47 > 0:39:53This is a civilian version of the M-16.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55Since this is my rifle, I know it very well.
0:39:55 > 0:40:00A lot of the tragedies... I have many friends my age,
0:40:00 > 0:40:03the younger generation - they feel they definitely want
0:40:03 > 0:40:04to protect themselves more
0:40:04 > 0:40:09so if they're in that situation late at night at a movie theatre and something like that happens
0:40:09 > 0:40:11where usually their defence is off,
0:40:11 > 0:40:14they would like to be able to protect themselves.
0:40:14 > 0:40:19A lot of people my age have gone to get concealed carrier permits
0:40:19 > 0:40:22so that they can carry handguns or become more familiar with weapons
0:40:22 > 0:40:24so they just feel confident with them.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28Go ahead, just stay up on top. Go ahead.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32'Confidence is one thing I don't feel as I prepare to fire a gun for the first time.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35'But I am confident I am in safe hands.'
0:40:35 > 0:40:40We're going to start with the .22. Full arm length out.
0:40:41 > 0:40:46- Push it all the way out. See your sights now?- Yeah.- Align that sight.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50- So it's on the thing?- Yeah.- Now use this thumb, cock that hammer.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53And keep your finger back.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55Add pressure to the trigger and it will go off.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59Don't squeeze it, just start adding pressure, let the gun surprise you.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01Steady, even pressure.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03- GUN FIRES OK.- Wow!
0:41:03 > 0:41:05- All right?- OK.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11- God, it's so heavy.- Sure. - I'm shaking.- Go ahead.
0:41:11 > 0:41:12BANG
0:41:12 > 0:41:14That's it.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16Right, range is hot.
0:41:16 > 0:41:22The Second Amendment in the Constitution is for civilians' rights to bear arms
0:41:22 > 0:41:28and as far as that, we've had guns since our nation's birth, since the American Revolution.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30Um, we're trained in 'em since then,
0:41:30 > 0:41:36so civilians, definitely as part of the Constitution, have a right to do that.
0:41:36 > 0:41:42Next for me, the more powerful 9-millimetre Smith & Wesson semi-automatic.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45Now, have a long, hard squeeze on this one first time around.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48- Do I press hard?- Just start pressing, you'll feel it.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50Just keep adding pressure.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53It will start to pull the trigger in a minute.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55Don't rush it, just keep pulling. You almost had it.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59- Oh, my God!- It's a hard pull on this one first time around.
0:41:59 > 0:42:00Pull real hard.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06- Whoa!- OK. Feel the difference?- Whoa!
0:42:06 > 0:42:09Now, put your finger out of the trigger guard. All right?
0:42:09 > 0:42:11SHE LAUGHS All right.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16That's it.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20- That's better. You hit a bull's-eye on that one.- Sorry...
0:42:20 > 0:42:22No, that's where it's supposed to go!
0:42:22 > 0:42:24- That's better.- Wo-ho!
0:42:24 > 0:42:27'I guess it gives me a sense of power because I know what it can do.'
0:42:27 > 0:42:31It's a different experience, may I say.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42- See where the holes are? - All of them in the centre!
0:42:42 > 0:42:46See the difference in size? Those are the ones I fired.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48- That is the 9-millimetre you shot.- Tiny.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51- Quite a bit of difference in size between the two of them.- That's...
0:42:51 > 0:42:55I could fit my pinky finger in there.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59People have talked about tightening gun laws. What's your view on this?
0:42:59 > 0:43:02Er...my view on that is pretty simple.
0:43:02 > 0:43:08We had a shooting here a while back and the kids that did it broke 22 gun laws
0:43:08 > 0:43:12in order to be able to get the firearms.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14So 23 is going to stop them?
0:43:14 > 0:43:19'I think this has changed my view slightly, although I still firmly believe
0:43:19 > 0:43:21'that there should be more gun laws enforced
0:43:21 > 0:43:24'to prevent things like Columbine'
0:43:24 > 0:43:25and what's happened in Aurora.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29But I do understand where they are coming from - that this is part of their culture.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31Guns are part of American society.
0:43:31 > 0:43:37And a lot of Americans feel safer having a gun, being able to protect themselves.
0:43:37 > 0:43:42It's not the gun laws or the guns that cause the problem - it's the nut behind it that uses it.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45Police can't be every place. They never are.
0:43:45 > 0:43:49They were at that theatre prior to the shooting and left
0:43:49 > 0:43:51because there was no problem.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02Two days after the shootings,
0:44:02 > 0:44:05President Obama visits the hospital
0:44:05 > 0:44:07where some of the victims are being treated.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12He is photographed with eyewitness Stephanie Davies.
0:44:12 > 0:44:17She saved the life of her friend Allie Young, who'd been hit in the neck by Holmes.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23'With the Presidential elections only a few months away,
0:44:23 > 0:44:28'I wonder how big a role the gun debate is playing on the campaign trail.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30'Answer - next to none.'
0:44:30 > 0:44:33I've been having a look at several newspapers
0:44:33 > 0:44:36and I've looked online as well.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39All the politicians seem to have other things to speak about.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42We have Mitt Romney speaking about Israel, there's a lot about,
0:44:42 > 0:44:47you know, Obama here, trying to intensify the campaign,
0:44:47 > 0:44:49heading into the final stretch.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52None of them really mention gun control or guns,
0:44:52 > 0:44:56which I find really surprising especially at this time
0:44:56 > 0:44:58and after what's just happened in Aurora.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03'But I still think politicians should be talking about guns.'
0:45:03 > 0:45:07'The emergency services called after a gunman started shooting at the congregation...'
0:45:08 > 0:45:12A week into my trip, there's news of another massacre
0:45:12 > 0:45:14over 700 miles away in Milwaukee.
0:45:15 > 0:45:19Once again, I am forced to question my views.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21I've just been watching BBC World News,
0:45:21 > 0:45:24where seven people have been killed in Wisconsin, in a Sikh temple.
0:45:24 > 0:45:26I've been here for seven days now in Aurora,
0:45:26 > 0:45:30and this is the second massacre killing that's been going on.
0:45:30 > 0:45:37Um, clearly there must be something wrong in the US in regards to gun control,
0:45:37 > 0:45:41and I'm pretty surprised that no-one's really speaking about it.
0:45:41 > 0:45:47'So why is it that gun control seems to be the one issue politicians won't touch?'
0:45:47 > 0:45:50That would be political suicide.
0:45:50 > 0:45:55In the US, in an election year, when you are running for President,
0:45:55 > 0:45:58you don't say anything bad about guns.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01If Mitt Romney suggested some sort of gun control,
0:46:01 > 0:46:04he would no longer be the Republican nominee.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06The people would freak out and he would be gone.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10President Obama I don't think would get as much political fallout from it directly,
0:46:10 > 0:46:17but a lot of Obama's political supporters in more conservative states, more conservative districts,
0:46:17 > 0:46:20there is absolutely no way that they would get re-elected
0:46:20 > 0:46:22if he were to say something about that.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27So maybe we just have to press the politicians.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32A few days later, it looks like I might get a chance.
0:46:32 > 0:46:38With tight security, President Obama makes a second visit to Denver.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43I decided this was one party I couldn't miss.
0:46:43 > 0:46:50Like all American political rallies these days, the audience is made up of handpicked supporters.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52As many of you know, I was in Aurora
0:46:52 > 0:46:55to meet those who lost loved ones during that terrible shooting.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57Unfortunately, since that time,
0:46:57 > 0:47:02we have had another tragedy in Oak Creek, Wisconsin,
0:47:02 > 0:47:08where six members of our community were killed as they entered into a house of worship.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10So I think we can all acknowledge,
0:47:10 > 0:47:15we've got to put an end to this kind of senseless violence. CHEERING
0:47:15 > 0:47:18A worthwhile aim - but he doesn't say anything about guns.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23It's almost as though guns didn't play any part
0:47:23 > 0:47:25in the Aurora killings.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40'This is a pretty stage-managed affair.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43'Try as I might, I don't get a chance to question the top man.'
0:47:43 > 0:47:46Unfortunately, we won't be able to get a word with him,
0:47:46 > 0:47:50but I would've loved to ask him what he thinks about guns and gun control
0:47:50 > 0:47:53and if anything is going to change, or if anything is going to be done.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56He did mention Aurora and Wisconsin, but, you know,
0:47:56 > 0:48:00he never mentioned what is going to happen with the guns.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05GUNFIRE, SCREAMING
0:48:09 > 0:48:12The politicians may not want to talk about guns,
0:48:12 > 0:48:15but the authorities have responded, and this is how.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19'If you were ever to find yourself in the middle of an active shooter
0:48:19 > 0:48:24'event, your survival may depend on whether or not you have a plan.'
0:48:24 > 0:48:28'This safety video from the City of Houston mayor's office
0:48:28 > 0:48:31'advises the public on how to deal with an armed intruder.'
0:48:31 > 0:48:35'There are three things you could do that make a difference.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37'Run. Hide.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39'Fight.'
0:48:39 > 0:48:41'In Texas, they clearly think a gunman on the loose
0:48:41 > 0:48:44'is a possibility worth planning for.'
0:48:44 > 0:48:46'Encourage others to leave with you,
0:48:46 > 0:48:49'but don't let them slow you down with indecision.'
0:48:49 > 0:48:53They're clearly stating that the right to bear arms is something
0:48:53 > 0:48:57that they are going to keep in the United States, therefore,
0:48:57 > 0:49:01we should do other things in order to stay protected.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04But guns are going to be there anyway, so you'd better do something
0:49:04 > 0:49:08in order to save your life, which is either run, hide or fight.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20Earlier this week, there is more confirmation that getting
0:49:20 > 0:49:24caught up in a shooting is a real possibility.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27Three people are shot dead on a university campus
0:49:27 > 0:49:29100 miles north of Houston.
0:49:39 > 0:49:44People versus James Holmes, 12CR1522...
0:49:46 > 0:49:49Whilst I'm in Denver, James Holmes makes his second
0:49:49 > 0:49:51appearance in court.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54If he's found guilty, what should happen to him?
0:49:54 > 0:49:58Some people have called for capital punishment.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10Colorado is one of the US states where the death penalty
0:50:10 > 0:50:12is still legal, actually,
0:50:12 > 0:50:16although the last person who was sentenced was 15 years ago.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22'I'm heading out of Denver, 100 miles north-east of the city,
0:50:22 > 0:50:27'to see the place where many of the state's serious offenders are held.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34'This is Sterling Correctional Facility,
0:50:34 > 0:50:36'Colorado's biggest high security prison.
0:50:38 > 0:50:39'It's a sobering sight.'
0:50:41 > 0:50:45There's three men in that maximum security prison on death row.
0:50:48 > 0:50:50'Could James Holmes be joining them?
0:50:50 > 0:50:53'If convicted, could he be sentenced to death?
0:50:53 > 0:50:55'It's a chilling thought.'
0:50:59 > 0:51:01If James Holmes does get sentenced,
0:51:01 > 0:51:03he might be facing the lethal injection.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08;And is that something that survivors of the dreadful
0:51:08 > 0:51:11'night in Aurora believe SHOULD happen?'
0:51:11 > 0:51:13Nope.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16Not that I am against the death penalty, but let's not make
0:51:16 > 0:51:21life easy for this man. He hasn't made life easy for very many people.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25Honestly, I would put him in general population in jail and say,
0:51:25 > 0:51:27"Fend for yourself. Figure it out."
0:51:27 > 0:51:32I heard a lot of people say they'd prefer it if he suffered in jail.
0:51:32 > 0:51:37Rot in a hole in a cell. My personal perspective is...
0:51:39 > 0:51:42..To be honest, I don't know what to do.
0:51:42 > 0:51:48I think it really all comes down to how much damage he's caused
0:51:48 > 0:51:51and how much, how much...
0:51:51 > 0:51:57how much punishment he should get, but for me, I think...
0:51:59 > 0:52:01..he should definitely get the death penalty.
0:52:01 > 0:52:08I don't know, I have a couple of little things going on in my head.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10Part of me wonders, like,
0:52:10 > 0:52:15if he wanted to be dead... he'd have shot himself.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19So part of me says I want him to fry.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21Just because I know that's not what he wants.
0:52:23 > 0:52:29But... The other part of me hopes and prays that God fill his heart
0:52:29 > 0:52:33with a bunch of guilt, and that he has to wake up in a 4x4 cell
0:52:33 > 0:52:36every day and deal with himself and live with it.
0:52:36 > 0:52:38I think the death penalty is an easy way out -
0:52:38 > 0:52:41it's like going to sleep before surgery, it's peaceful.
0:52:41 > 0:52:43He doesn't deserve a peaceful death.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47That's how I feel - my friends didn't get one...
0:52:49 > 0:52:50..why should he?
0:52:50 > 0:52:52BAND MUSIC PLAYS
0:52:59 > 0:53:01In the days after the shootings, the people of Aurora come
0:53:01 > 0:53:04together to offer prayers for the 12 lives that have been lost.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09Tonight we come together to pray and to be with one another.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13Some of us are survivors,
0:53:13 > 0:53:22family members, or friends of those who suffered through this senseless and evil act of violence.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26CHOIR SINGS
0:53:26 > 0:53:29It's the first step towards rebuilding a community that
0:53:29 > 0:53:33has been shattered by that terrible night.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35But it will be a long road.
0:53:38 > 0:53:43I'm going to do this, and I'm going to get through this,
0:53:43 > 0:53:48but it's going to be hard. For ever, I'm going to be reminded of this.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51I'm slowly getting better by the days,
0:53:51 > 0:53:55but I know it will come back and haunt me for the rest of my life.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00Others are still coming to terms,
0:54:00 > 0:54:03not just with the horror of what they saw,
0:54:03 > 0:54:05but also with the feelings of guilt
0:54:05 > 0:54:08that they survived and some of their friends didn't.
0:54:10 > 0:54:13I feel a little bit bad for not helping people in there,
0:54:13 > 0:54:16but...I was scared.
0:54:19 > 0:54:20I was scared.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52'I've been in Colorado for two weeks,
0:54:52 > 0:54:54'but my journey is now coming to an end.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00'Before I leave for London, I want to take one last look
0:55:00 > 0:55:04'at the memorial, and pay my last respects to the 12 people who died.
0:55:10 > 0:55:14'It's also a chance to reflect on what my journey has taught me.'
0:55:18 > 0:55:21Guns are something that, you know, Americans
0:55:21 > 0:55:25and people in Colorado believe are part of their right, and
0:55:25 > 0:55:28they have the right to bear arms, so it's something they're not going
0:55:28 > 0:55:32to let go so easily, something ingrained in their culture.
0:55:34 > 0:55:38I don't think politicians are willing to even start with
0:55:38 > 0:55:40this conversation, you know,
0:55:40 > 0:55:43it's something they've completely blanked.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45But attitudes, for me, have to change in the people.
0:55:47 > 0:55:49I've realised here, I mean,
0:55:49 > 0:55:52there's almost something like "America equals guns",
0:55:52 > 0:55:55and in order to take that away,
0:55:55 > 0:55:59it's no longer America, they feel, so it's going to be very hard.
0:55:59 > 0:56:00I don't think it will change.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07'My big fear is that Aurora will change nothing.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10'That in a year's time, I will be back, maybe in another state,
0:56:10 > 0:56:14'or another city, reporting on another massacre.'
0:56:33 > 0:56:37BARACK OBAMA: The people we lost in Aurora loved, and they WERE loved.
0:56:40 > 0:56:44They were mothers and fathers, they were husbands and wives,
0:56:44 > 0:56:48sisters and brothers, sons and daughters,
0:56:48 > 0:56:51friends and neighbours.
0:56:51 > 0:56:53They had hopes for the future,
0:56:53 > 0:56:57and they had dreams that were not yet fulfilled.
0:56:58 > 0:57:03Life is very fragile. Our time here is limited and it is precious.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd