Names of Shooting Victims Emerge
Names of the dead in the Aurora shooting are emerging. A six-year-old girl was killed:
Ashley Moser drifted in and out of consciousness in the ICU, bullets lodged in her throat and abdomen. In her waking moments, she called for her 6-year-old daughter Veronica.
Nobody had the heart to tell her that Veronica was already dead, the youngest victim killed at a Colorado movie theater in one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.
“Nobody can tell her about it,” Annie Dalton said of her cousin, Ashley Moser. “She is in critical condition, but all she’s asking about is her daughter.”
Veronica was to start learning swimming lessons on Tuesday, Dalton said.
“She was excited about life as she should be. She’s a 6-year-old girl,” her great-aunt said
Anita Busch also lost a relative:
Micayla Medek, 23, was also among the dead, her father’s cousin, Anita Busch, told the Associated Press.
Busch said the news, while heartbreaking, was a relief for the family after an agonizing day of waiting for news.
“I hope this evil act … doesn’t shake people’s faith in God,” she said.
Anita Busch is a personal friend and a friend of the site. She was terrorized by Anthony Pellicano in a way few can imagine. She was threatened with death at her home, her phone was tapped, her computer was hacked . . . and she was treated like a crazy person by her Pellicano-supporting “colleagues” at the Los Angeles Times.
On a personal level, when I encountered a somewhat lower level of harassment — being SWATted, workplace complaints, publication of home address, and so forth — Anita gave me advice on how to deal with the situation. Her counsel was very helpful to me and I won’t forget it.
My condolences to Anita on this loss. And my condolences to the family members of each and every person killed and maimed in this horrible attack.
By the way, I know commenters here have had disagreements with Anita on this site about politics and such. I know everyone here is smart enough to know that this is a time to set such things aside. It’s one of the things I love best about this site: that people can debate politics furiously, yet come together when it really matters.
Patterico (feda6b) — 7/21/2012 @ 11:40 amI recommend “Life on a TASER”
Neo (d1c681) — 7/21/2012 @ 11:44 amMay evil never prevail. Thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this senseless, murderous mayhem.
Colonel Haiku (b61252) — 7/21/2012 @ 11:44 amThank you for answering the Anita question that several of us were wondering about in comments on your earlier post. My most sincere condolences to Anita and to her family on their terrible and sudden loss.
elissa (c20277) — 7/21/2012 @ 11:46 amI talked to Anita just now, by the way. Another family member was unable to get a ticket to the same showing. Otherwise, there could have been two victims from her family. She’s very tired dealing with media requests so I hung up to let her try to get some sleep.
Patterico (feda6b) — 7/21/2012 @ 11:52 amthe homeland, it is secure
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/21/2012 @ 12:22 pmAs bad as this shooting was, it only gets worse as details like this start to come out. My condolences to Anita Busch and everyone suffering from this evil act.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 12:25 pmThis is not meant as an exercise in blaming the victim, but a midnight movie is no place for a six-year-old.
JVW (edec8d) — 7/21/2012 @ 12:34 pmsix is old enough to go to a midnight movie they’re very unlikely to cry and much less likely to forget to turn off their cell and very very likely to be enthusiastic and excited to see the movie and have a great time with their dad or mom and then after that they can go straight home to bed and wake up the next morning and watch cartoons and then go out and play
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/21/2012 @ 12:38 pmThat’s kind of what I was thinking, and something about the way happy writes that comment really hits home. That’s the way the night was supposed to go.
Patterico (feda6b) — 7/21/2012 @ 12:40 pmAnother hero: Jon Blunk.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 12:53 pmOne reason 6 is too young for this movie is that Batman: The Dark Knight Rises is rated PG-13 for “intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language.” I realize every parent decides what their child should and shouldn’t see but IMO parents should at least see movies like this first, before they take younger kids, so they can decide if their child can handle the movie. But they couldn’t have done that here because it was the premiere.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 12:55 pmI am willing to concede that you parents know more about child-rearing than I do (though, honestly, some of you make baffling decisions). My point wasn’t about whether the kid can stay awake and enjoy a midnight movie, it was more about the fact that pretty much every midnight movie I have ever attended is full of rowdy drunks. Also, once the movie ends you are driving home at the same moment when the bars empty and the roads are full of drunk drivers. To me, it’s an unacceptable risk when you can just go see the Saturday matinee.
JVW (edec8d) — 7/21/2012 @ 12:57 pmSome people are disturbed by the concept of Hell. I am not. For the monster who did this, there can be no truly fitting earthly punishment. Keeping him alive means he is paid for by the state, and he can only die once. The thought that when he dies, he will suffer all of the anguish he inflicted on his victims for eternity is justice and vengeance satisfied.
OmegaPaladin (f2d931) — 7/21/2012 @ 1:00 pmhappyfeet,
Taking a 6-year-old to a midnight movie is great fun for a child, but it should be age appropriate.
In addition, I confess I delayed gratifying my children with older activities like this movie because I found that if you make a habit of doing things like this at age 6, it’s very hard to reward, entertain and amaze your child at 10, 13 and 16. They grow up fast enough as it is.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 1:02 pmDCSCA spoke w/Ms. Busch very early this morning just after her heartfelt interview aired on CNN w/Gary Tuckman (around 6 AM, EDT.) If you can find it on the web or CNN reairs it, it’s worth a listen.
The details, not only of the crime, but the challenges to personal faith, the gutwretching anxieties of victim relatives battling institutional protocol, desperate to secure information, are often overlooked or lost as backstory, as the bigger picture is rushed, shaped and reported. But the ‘collateral damage’ is very real and life-changing. It scars. And it is incalculable. And it is forever.
Anita knows that prayers are with her– and her immediate and extended family. Micayla is at peace. And she is with God.
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 7/21/2012 @ 1:03 pmI saw the greatest kid the other night at a chinese dive in encino he was probably about 3 and his parents had given him a mohawk and he had earrings in both ears and he was a big kid but nothing for michelle to get alarmed about just a bid handful of a kid with a big head and a big smile and a big personality to where he kinda owned that dive chinese restaurant dining room and he liked yelling “i love you” at his mom and I thought to myself how it never occurred to mom and dad to raise this kids this way but it makes you realize how many different ways there are
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/21/2012 @ 1:09 pmoops to raise *their* kids this way – meaning my mom and dad, who were awesome parents but not very mohawky… but mostly I suspect that was all about appearances
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/21/2012 @ 1:12 pmIf we are trading anecdotes, happyfeet, last summer I was at my favorite watering hole on a glorious weekend afternoon when in walked six adults (three couples) with fours kids approximate ages 7-11 in tow. They had all been on an afternoon-long pubcrawl of beach bars, they told me. As the adults plowed through five pitchers of beer in two hours, each kid drank two 16-ounce bottles of caffeinated, sugary soft drink. Anyway, the kids were amped up and running amuck through the bar, and the adults were in no shape to pay any heed. Made me wonder what things would be like once they got the kids home.
So yeah, there are lots of ways to raise your kids.
JVW (edec8d) — 7/21/2012 @ 1:17 pmBefore anyone jumps on DRJ, I’m sure she’s just discussing the question of bringing a young child to a midnight movie of a certain rating. I’m confident she’s not trying to say that there is any linkage between bringing a child to a midnight movie and a child’s random tragic death at the hands of a deranged mass murderer.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 1:18 pmMy sincere condolences to Ms. Busch.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 1:19 pmThank you, SPQR. No one deserves this, no matter what their age. And I’ll be glad to leave this discussion to another day.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 1:21 pmJVW -I wouldn’t take either of my angels to a midnight showing of anything, much less the Dark Knight. I could not agree with DRJ more. Plus, I cannot stand people that speak of themselves in the 3rd person.
JD (459580) — 7/21/2012 @ 1:24 pmI started this whole child kerfuffle and I’ll let it drop too. My only point is that our society makes a huge mistake when we include children in activities that logically should be reserved for adults.
JVW (edec8d) — 7/21/2012 @ 1:26 pmDRJ, no criticism of you was intended at all. Just anticipating another troll infestation.
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 1:29 pmSPQR,
It’s hard to talk about this topic without sounding like I’m being critical of the injured mother of this little girl. I would hate for my words to hurt her or her family, so I’m glad your comment gave me the chance to clarify this. Taking your child, your friend, or anyone to a midnight movie should never end like this. The only fault is with the shooter.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 1:55 pmDRJ, Please understand I hold you in the highest respect.(*)
(*) who recognizes that line?
SPQR (26be8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 2:09 pmAs you wish, SPQR.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 2:16 pmThe Aurora Sentinel profiles some of the victims.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 2:17 pmThank you to everyone. We are so tired. Please pray for Micayla’s father Greg, sister Amanda and Greg’s wife Rene. Also grandmother Caroline Medek and aunts and uncles Joey, Jenny, Teresa, Donna, Stevie, Karen and Andy.
We appreciate it very, very much. And pray for all of the victims of this evil act. So many victims of crime …
Anita Busch (1c1971) — 7/21/2012 @ 2:59 pm______________________________________________
Taking a 6-year-old to a midnight movie is great fun for a child, but it should be age appropriate.
Doesn’t that (or shouldn’t that) go without saying? If there’s even a bit of contrary opinion to that statement, or if it causes even a few eyebrows to be raised nowadays, that says a lot about where we’re headed.
I’ve read that school teachers in today’s age increasingly are discovering that after a student has been disciplined, and the parents come to school to find out what happened, more and more of them take the side not of the adult (ie, the teacher) but of little Johnny or Susie. Some parents even threaten lawsuits over their kids being disciplined.
Meanwhile, I wonder if Patterico.com’s forum doesn’t seem to attract more posters because its format isn’t easier to browse through? By comparison, I notice when I scroll down through dozens of comments at a readers forums similar to this one, my eyes don’t feel lost or want to skip around. It’s too bad too because Patterico deserves no fewer posters than the hundreds or thousands that often leave comments at the end of blog entries at, for example (and bleech), the Huffington Post.
Mark (a346be) — 7/21/2012 @ 3:10 pm_________________________________________________
We are so tired
I can’t begin to imagine the devastation that the survivors are going through. It’s paralyzing enough dealing with a family member or friend who passes away due to a fatal illness or a tragic accident. But to have known a person who in an instant is gone forever because of the brutality and horror of murder has to be a thousand times worse.
Mark (a346be) — 7/21/2012 @ 3:16 pmMy heart aches for all of the families.
mg (44de53) — 7/21/2012 @ 3:51 pmCondolences all around.
We lived in Breckenridge for 20 years and one daughter is still there.
This hurts the stomach.
Xoxo, Anita. You all have been through too much
Happs and Patterico, I love you both.
MayBee (fb7121) — 7/21/2012 @ 4:03 pmAnita,
I’m sure you missed sleep while you waited for information. Emotional distress is also very tiring. I hope you can get some rest.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 4:03 pmThe coroner has released the names of the dead. They are named with some profiles here.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 4:32 pmThe LA Times has a nice tribute page here.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 4:36 pmAnita, my condolences to you and your family. And prayers for strength and endurance to get through the long, hard road ahead. May your family be overwhelmed with love and prayer from near and far. Courage for the journey.
Dana (292dcf) — 7/21/2012 @ 4:54 pmTaking a 6-year-old to a midnight movie is great fun for a child, but it should be age appropriate.
I would never take a six year old to this film, and even at 10 or 12, as a parent, I (or my husband) would have seen it first to assess whether or not it was appropriate. Unfortunately, PG-13 runs a wide gamut of sex, violence, profanity. It seems the boundaries are ever increasing.
My children had to wait for the PG-13 movies. Sometimes they balked, more often than not though, they accepted our decision.
There is plenty of time to be a young person who can see what they want to see. However, there is very little time to just be a child and enjoy the unburdened, untroubled and secure season that it is. As a parent, I wanted that time to last as long as possible.
Dana (292dcf) — 7/21/2012 @ 4:58 pmfrom your links it looks like all the victims were white people
just…
that’s statistically… improbable
except maybe unless it’s an aurora thing
i know for sure batman isn’t a white people thing remember?
keep bustin
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/21/2012 @ 5:02 pmLovely comment, Dana #38.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 5:11 pmhas anyone noticed the creepy eerie resemblance to eric millegan?
eric used to perform over on tujunga
I never went yet
it was right above where robert blake killed his wife
this is what passes for frivolity here in studio city
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 7/21/2012 @ 5:22 pmAnita, I am so very sorry for your family’s loss. You are all in my prayers
SarahW (b0e533) — 7/21/2012 @ 5:53 pmIt’s wise not to squander something so precious as a childhood.
Anita, you are in my prayers. You’ve always been a force for justice and it’s heartbreaking that you are again dealing with senseless evil.
I am so sorry.
Dustin (73fead) — 7/21/2012 @ 5:57 pmhappyfeet #40,
I keep looking at their photos and what strikes me is how young they were. It makes sense because going to this particular movie, at midnight, is something that would appeal to young people. But losing young people is especially sad.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 6:27 pmjust breaks your heart to think about the terror they must have felt.
Colonel Haiku (3aaab3) — 7/21/2012 @ 6:30 pmThe shooter knew there would be primarily young people at the midnight show. We have read descriptions of him being shy, introverted and with few friends. Also, I read that because he was unable to find a job, he was sent to Colorado by his mother to pursue his advanced degree, which didn’t work out.
I wonder if he was so full of internalized anger/resentment at peers who were finding success, both in their personal lives as well as professional/academic pursuits, that he could just no longer deal with it? He knew the theater would be full, and he knew it would be full of primarily young people.
Dana (292dcf) — 7/21/2012 @ 6:35 pmAs an FYI, the place I go to look for reviews of movies in regard to child-appropriateness is:
http://www.kids-in-mind.com/
They are quite detailed in evaluating content.
But I otherwise agree that this is a terribly sad thing overall, and young children dieing make it sadder.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 7/21/2012 @ 6:40 pmWhen ours were young, we would always go to ScreenIt.com There weren’t a lot of sites then that provided such comprehensive detail. The upside of the internet is that there are now a plethora of sites available to gather necessary information.
While they are indeed valuable tools for parents, there are, unfortunately, many parents who do not see anything wrong with exposing their young children to sex, violence and profanity. And it is these naive and foolish (and selfish) parents who believe early exposure to such stuff will have no lasting impact on the child who takes this stuff in way before they have necessarily matured.
Dana (292dcf) — 7/21/2012 @ 6:52 pm==just breaks your heart to think about the terror they must have felt==
Has anyone read what the occupancy is in the affected theatres 8 and 9? (We know they were filled to capacity for the opening show.)
elissa (c20277) — 7/21/2012 @ 6:53 pmOn the news tonight (NBC) they said that the mother of the 6 yr old who died is paralyzed from the injuries.
elissa (c20277) — 7/21/2012 @ 6:55 pmThat’s sad news about the mother, elissa. This report says she was shot in the neck and they hope she will regain some use of her hands. I hope she beats the odds.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 7/21/2012 @ 7:37 pmHere’s a profile of the oldest deceased victim, Gordon W. Cowden. He had taken his teenagers to see the movie.
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here (1dc7b6) — 8/11/2012 @ 11:46 pm