Gordon Forgey

The country has been thrust into sorrow and grief over the mass killing at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater.

The death toll is 12. Another 59 were wounded, some critically. The ages of those killed run from six to 52.

It all happened at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie last week when a lone gunman entered the theater and started shooting.

Apparently, the shooter had planned his massacre for months, assembling an arsenal of weapons and ammunition and constructing explosive devices. He also had hoped to lure police into another killing zone at his apartment.

Once the incident was reported, the police arrived almost immediately, and the alleged shooter, James Holmes, was quickly apprehended at the scene by virtue of some very alert officers.

So far, it is not known why the shooter went on his killing spree.

Such shootings are nothing new to the country. There have been a string of them, from the rampage at Virginia Tech to this. So far, most of the violence in these incidents have been random and conducted by troubled loners. They capture the nation’s attention because of the level of carnage.

Between these events, however, senseless killings occur daily. Just recently, an innocent child was shot and killed in Chicago while in her front yard. Incidents like this do not capture the nation’s attention and will soon be forgotten.

The nation mourns over the tragedy in Aurora. It is right that we do.

Yet, we should remember as well all the other innocents so tragically taken by violence in this country each and every day.

It might just give us a better perspective of the society we live in.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher