As the shooting spree during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises overshadows talk of its box office potential, those who know the industry best jump on the social network to express their sympathies and shock.
Before Warner Bros. issued a statement saying it was “deeply saddened” and extended its “sincere sympathies” to victims’ loved ones, many celebs were already tweeting publicly about the deadly shooting now overshadowing the content of the studio’s blockbuster, The Dark Knight Rises.
“What devastating news to wake up to,” John Stamos tweeted. “my heart is with everyone involved in the Aurora #theatershooting. what the world needs now is…”
Lost star Dominic Monaghan wrote: “Denver you are in our thoughts.”
“My prayers go out to the victims and families of the Colorado theater shooting #justicewillbeserved,” tweeted Nicole Polizzi (AKA “Snooki”).
Compulsive Twitter user Billy Ray Cyrus had this to say: “Oh no ! Just woke up and turned on the news “14 dead 50 hurt in Batman movie shooting”. Praying for victims. So sorry and sad.”
And, perhaps for the first time ever, filmmaker and avid gun control proponent, Michael Moore, tweeted: “Too sad at the moment to comment.”
Russell Simmons, Andy Garcia, Paula Deen and Shannon Elizabeth were also among the recognizable names sending their thoughts to victims’ families, as well as the Denver-area community left reeling from the Friday morning shooting spree.
A local celeb’s connection
A Denver celebrity, radio host Peter Burns, revealed a stunningly awful connection to the shootings: His colleague, Jessica Redfield, was killed during the incident early Friday morning.
“Devastated,” Burns tweeted. “Lost a very close friend in the shooting last night. @JessicaRedfield came to Denver to pursue sports career. I’m shaking.”
At one point, Burns indicated he was so shaken that another colleague stepped in during his morning radio program.
Redfield herself had actually tweeted a play-by-play of the enthusiasm leading up to the midnight showing of the movie.
Her last message read: “MOVIE DOESN’T START FOR 20 MINUTES.”
Shockingly, Redfield had already survived (and blogged about) another shooting — at a Toronto mall.
During an interview with CNN Friday morning, Burns also noted that Redfield was 24 years old — the same age as suspected shooter James Holmes.
A filmmaker escapes
Denver-based filmmaker Zach Eastman, managed to escape the theater and live-tweeted his experiences along the way:
“Have just evacuated our theater in Aurora. There was a shooting in our auditorium. I am safe.”
“I know I saw one man with blood running down his hands being carried into a cop car.”
“A bit shaken up at the moment. not gonna lie, that was extremely terrifying.”
Image courtesy of HRC/WENN.com
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