Holmes Victim's Mother to Sue Theater for Aurora, Colo. Shooting: Others to Follow Suit?
A Holmes victim's mother will sue the Aurora, Colo. movie theater where the massacre during the showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" took place. The tragic shooting led to 12 dying and 58 others being wounded.
The Holmes victim's mother, Shirley Wygal, is preparing to sue the Century 16 theater because her daughter, 32-year-old Rebecca Wingo, was killed during the violence. The mother has already found a lawyer and is currently preparing her case, according to TMZ.
Though the mother hasn't gone as far as to say the massacre was preventable, the lack of security around the exits, the lack of an alarm on emergency doors, and the lack of guards made the outcome of the incident worse.
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"Sources close to Shirley tell us she believes the theater's emergency exit doors should have been alarmed, or there should have been security guards posted next to them ... especially for a premiere as anticipated as 'The Dark Knight Rises,'" reported TMZ.
Although she certainly has the right to sue the theater, some have criticized Wygal for going forward with a lawsuit because the owners of the Cinemark theater already offered the mother compensation. They called the chapel where Wingo's funeral was held, saying they would pay for the funeral expenses of all victims killed by James Holmes.
The funeral had already been paid for by the Victims' Advocate Fund, so Wingo turned down the Cinemark owners' proposal.
Wingo isn't the only one suing the Century 16 theater for the incident. Another patron present during the July 20 shooting, Torrence Brown, Jr., also sued for the incident.
Unlike Wingo, Brown was not injured, but his friend A.J. Bolk was killed and as a result, he says he suffers from trauma. He is suing Century 16 movie theater for a lack of security, James Holmes' doctors for failing to notify authorities of his condition, and Warner Bros., for "The Dark Knight Rises," an especially violent film.
"Somebody has to be responsible for the rampant violence that is shown today," Brown's attorney, Donald Karpel, told The Hollywood Gossip.
The lawsuits by Wygal and Brown could hold up in court, but some are decrying the cases as morally wrong.
"I am truly sorry for your loss, but there is only one person to blame and he will stand trial, be convicted and executed," wrote B on The Hollywood Gossip blog. "Movie theaters should have to have armed security … Let this rest, don't turn it into something uglier than what it already is."
"What a money grubbing bunch," napalminam agreed. "He would have found another way to what he did no matter what was in his way. People like this will not be stopped by alarms or anything else."
