Stories are now emerging of heroism and courage from inside the Century 16 theaters in Aurora, Colo., where a gunman opened fire during a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Eric Hunter, a 23-year-old from Aurora, was inside Theater 8, adjacent to the scene of the shootings. When he heard the gunshots, he ran to open an exit door and found two teenager girls, one of whom was wounded in the face, the Lost Angeles Times reports.
Hunter, who is a radiology technician, pulled the girls into theater. But before he could shut the door, he found himself momentarily face to face with the shooter — 24-year-old James Holmes. However, Hunter managed to slam the door shut, even as he could hear the gunman pounding on it. Hunter’s actions possibly saved dozens of lives as the shooter never managed to come through to Theater 8.
“He’s coming my way so I shut the door. So I hold the door for a little bit. He’s banging on the door for about 10 seconds,” Hunter told the Associated Press.
Hunter then called 911, before going over to help the two girls. He was helped by an off-duty paramedic.
Hunter isn’t the only hero: ABC News has the story of 19-year-old Jarrell Brooks, who helped a mother, Patricia Legarreta, and her two young children escape even as he was injured himself.
“At the end of the aisle, I ran into a woman. She yelled, ‘My kids!’ and I saw she had two young kids with her,” Brooks told ABC News. “I made sure they got in the aisle and pushed behind her to make sure she got out of there.” The teen crawled on top of the Legarreta in an attempt to push them out the door.