Colo. Shooting Victim's Brother Recounts Final Moments: Jessica Was No Longer Screaming
Jessica Ghawi was among the 12 victims of Friday's shooting in Aurora, Colo. Her brother, Jordan, described in detail how she was shot and killed while watching "The Dark Knight Rises."
Though Jordan, a 26-year-old firefighter and paramedic based in Texas, wasn't at the theater with his sister, he recounted what happened during the shooting based on a friend's account.
"This is what I have been told by Brent, who was with my sister at the time of the shooting," he blogged.
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His sister Jessica and Brent were watching the midnight showing from the middle portion of the theater when a device was thrown and produced a hissing sound. As smoke filled the theater, moviegoers began moving from their seats.
That's when shots were fired.
"Brent and Jessica immediately dropped to a prone position for cover. Jessica advised multiple times for someone to call 911, which Brent immediately attempted to do. Brent then heard Jessica scream and noticed that she was struck by a round in the leg," Jordan Ghawi wrote.
While Brent attempted to calm Jessica and hold pressure on the wound, he was shot on "his lower extremities."
"While still administering first aid, Brent noticed that Jessica was no longer screaming."
When Brent looked over to Jessica, he noticed what appeared to be an entry wound to her head.
After escaping, Brent called Jessica's mother.
It was at 2:15 a.m. CST that Jordan Ghawi received "an hysterical, and almost unintelligible, phone call from my mother."
When Ghawi caught the next flight out of San Antonio, Texas, to Denver, he didn't know whether his sister was alive or dead. He arrived in Colorado at around 7:45 a.m. and went to the hospital to see Brent, who had non-life threatening injuries.
After being briefed on what happened, Ghawi spent the next two hours trying to find out the status of his sister.
He received word from the coroner's office at 12:27 p.m. that Jessica died.
The suspect of the shooting has been identified as James Holmes, 24. He was armed with four weapons, a bullet-proof vest, bullet-proof leggings, a gas mask and gloves. He is in custody.
