Know this: If more law abiding citizens who carried handguns legally, many lives could have been saved.

This hits home because it could have been me, my family, my friends that were in that theater and I just got home from the movies. Dangerous people are everywhere, but you have a choice to be a legally armed citizen. Make the choice to stop being a victim.

I posted the above to my Facebook page. I hope my friends start to get it.

As of right now, 14 dead and 50+ wounded...

If only one had been armed................

sad thing is this will just be duel for antigun fire they wont see it our way i dont know about that theater but the one i go to doesnt allow guns so even if it would have happen to me i would have been unarmed because i follow the rules sad that that might get you killed these days

fuel*

Agree with @jamesconn. We can't carry in theaters here in NC either or any place where people are assembled for a fee. I follow the rules as well. I would like to have every opportunity to protect myself and others if the need ever arises. Sadly, that is not always the case.

MS is the same, no firearms in theaters, however there are on duty LEO's. I'm surprised there weren't any LEO's there, who could have responded sooner.

There were LEO's there working the parking lot for crowd control and they did catch him. Could imagine a LEO trying to get in those doors with everyone trying to get out? Unless they are sitting next to you it's already to late. My heart goes out to everyone effected by this.

Okay adjustment 12 dead 38 injured is the MSNBC tally. Some newsperson moments ago said he had a .40 Glock , a Remington 870, an AR type rifle. Tossed a tear gas canister to cause the crowd to panic and head for the exits then opened up on the crowds log jamming to get out. Body armor as well and his apartment is booby trapped.

My first thought was that I couldn't believe that in a theatre full of people there were not a few that had Concealed Carry Permits... So tragic and so preventable. We will definitely be hearing about this for the next couple of weeks. The politicians have already revved up their spin machines...

First and foremost, my thoughts go out to the victims. Screw the politics, people died. Their loved ones died. May they rest in peace.

But I agree with what most of you are probably thinking. Law abiding citizens carrying a gun could have helped end this situation. Sadly it's after the fact and we will never know for sure. Only thing is, we do know that anti-gun people will be all over this. We as a gun community can be divided on Glock vs 1911, open carry vs concealed carry, .40 or .45 vs 9mm, but now more than ever we need to join together and make sure we spend our efforts fighting the real threat to our safety, laws and such that will threaten our second amendment rights. I don't know much of anything about politics, but I have shared with with friends and have gotten very good response over night. I suggest you tell your friends about family about this tragedy and what they can do to choose to not be a victim whose only option is to turn and run when the time comes.

That is beyond sad. RIP to the fallen.

I read about this early this morning, have considered what it must have been like to be there and certainly can't fully imagine. Makes me want to be prepared and have law abiding citizens all round who are also prepared. Regardless, this is both sad and maddening. It seems the least we can do is ask range owner operators what classes and educational opportunities they have to offer so more people can be a part of preventing this before / when it happens again.

@jamesconn and I went to see the movie together last night t midnight here in NC. And knowing the laws and took my pistol out of my holster and left it in my car and went into the theater. Both of us are CCW guys and I had even mentioned to him that I wish I could carry in the theater when we were getting popcorn. I hadn't even considered an event like this. I was more concerned about walking back to my car in a dark packed parking lot at 3 in the morning. With at the panic that was going on, no one for sure could say if some one could have stopped it sooner, but I would be nice to know that we would be able to have a fighting chance. More gun laws are not the answer.

Very sad indeed and ironic how the Arms Trade treaty is in progress. Could this have been a planned attack to get the anti-gun crowd crying out for more gun control?

@captnchaos I was kind of thinking the same thing. I hope thats not the case. I'm glad the shooter didn't shot himself, so maybe we will find out what was going through his mind.