The victims who were killed during ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ shooting massacre have been identified. A 6-year-old girl was tragically the youngest of the fatalities.
The Arapahoe County coroner’s office released the full list of fatalities from the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting tragedy that took a dozen lives and wounded more than 50 others. All families have been notified.
Dr. Michael Doberson, the coroner, confirmed that the cause of death for all of the victims was homicide resulting from gunshot wounds.
On July 21, 26 people were still in the hospital, with nine in critical condition.
James Holmes, the suspected shooter in the incident, remains in police custody.
According to USA Today, the following victims have been identified:
Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6
Veronica had plans to start swimming lessons on July 24. Her mom, Ashley Moser, was hospitalized in critical condition with bullets in the abdomen and her throat. Veronica is the youngest of those killed in the massacre.
Micayla Medek, 23
On her Facebook page, Micayla described herself as, ”a simple independent girl who’s just trying to get her life together while still having fun.” She was student at Community College of Aurora and worked at a Subway restaurant, according to the New York Daily News.
Jessica Ghawi, 24
Jessica was an aspiring journalist and sportscaster. She was also a blogger who wrote about a previous incident in a Toronto mall where she narrowly missed another shooter. ”I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath,” she wrote.
Alex Sullivan, 27
Alex was celebrating his 27th birthday during the movie screening, and was set to celebrate his first wedding anniversary on July 22. Earlier in the evening, Alex tweeted that this would be “the best birthday ever.”
Navy Petty Officer John Larimer, 27
John joined fellow sailors from the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. Tenth Fleet at Buckley Air Force Base went to The Dark Night Rises. He would never come home. ”I am incredibly saddened by the loss of Petty Officer John Larimer — he was an outstanding shipmate,”Jeffrey Jakuboski, John commanding officer, said according to the New York Daily News.
Rebecca Wingo, 32
Rebecca was a mother of two and a Community College of Aurora student pursuing an associate in arts degree, according to the Denver Post. Her friend, Marcus Weaver, was sitting in the fifth row and fell to the floor in order to protect her. She did not survive.
Matthew McQuinn, 27
During the incident, Matthew threw himself over his girlfriend, Samantha Yowler, to protect her from the rain of bullets. She was shot in the leg, but survived — he did not. Matthew graduated from Vandalia-Butler High School in Springfield, Ill., in 2004, and was in the Occupational World Experience program.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Jesse Childress, 29
Jesse was a cybersystems operator on active duty orders with the 310th Forces Support Squadron, Buckley Air Force Base, according to an Air Force statement released July 21.
Alexander Boik, 18
Alexander Boik went to the showing with his girlfriend, Lasamoa Cross. After his death, his family posted a tribute online:
“AJ Boik was a wonderful, handsome and loving eighteen year old young man with a warm and loving heart. He graduated from Gateway High School this year, where he had many friends… He was dating a beautiful young lady who was with him at the time and we are blessed that she survived this incident.”
Alexander Teves, 24
Alexander Teves recently graduated from the University of Denver and was planning to start graduate school for physical therapy, according to the New York Daily News. His aunt, Barbara Slivinske, told the newspaper, “He was a wonderful person. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body.”
Jonathan Blunk, 26
Jansen Young told the Today Show she survived because her boyfriend, Jonathan T. Blunk, a Navy veteran and father of two, hurled himself on top of her and shielded her from the bullets. “Jon just took a bullet for me,” she said.
Gordon Cowdon, 51
No information was available.
– Christina Stiehl
More Dark Knight Rises news:
Jane
Posted at 4:48 PM on July 22, 2012
This tragedy makes us realize how sort life is and how quick you can be taken from it. How wonderful to know that there are still heros in the world. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victim’s families. I can’t imagine having to go throught something so horrific.