Media Coverage of The Aurora Shootings

Media reports about the Aurora shooting have focused extensively on the shooter, with little focus on the victims. Increasingly, however, stories are emerging about the individuals who saved the lives of others by placing themselves between the victims and the shooter.

In the genocide literature, we call these people “rescuers”. Some social scientists have studied the factors related to rescuing behavior. They have suggested that rescuers act without thinking. While most of us need to take time to process events unfolding around us (particularly those that take us by surprise), rescuers act instinctively to save others. They may assess risk differently than most, and have greater confidence in the outcome of their actions.

Some of the statements made by survivors of the Aurora shooting reflect these findings from social research:

What strikes me most about this video is not the number of people who protected those they loved, but the person who protected a family he didn’t even know. Jarrell Brooks, aged 19, was shot in the leg while helping a stranger with her two children. He survived, as did they.

Media reports have focused so intently on the shooter, I fear we're ignoring the significant stories of heroism from that evening. Consider:

Five of the twelve people who were killed took action to protect others, and saved lives.

When Allie Young was shot in the neck, her friend Stephanie Davies protected her and provided first aid during the shooting rather than flee the scene.

A 13-year-old girl (her name has been withheld for privacy) attempted to save 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan, but was unable to help her. Veronica died of her wounds.

While we can criticize the news media for excessive coverage of the offender and little focus on the victims and heroes, this is not an unusual phenomenon.

I would hypothesize that our general knowledge about mass violence is usually focused on the offender(s) rather than the victims. Returning to the topic of genocide, most people can probably name the leaders responsible for these genocidal events:

1. The Holocaust
2. The Bosnian Genocide
3. The Cambodian Genocide

However, what about notable rescuers from genocides? Can you name any of those? How about:

1. The people who sheltered Anne Frank, her family, and several others during the Holocaust?
2. The French teenager who pretended to lead Boy Scout campers through hikes in the Alps, but was actually sneaking Jewish children into Switzerland (again, during the Holocaust)?
3. The man who hid Tutsis in his hotel in Rwanda?

Don’t feel badly if you don’t recall these names—most people probably can’t. The media (and our educational system, come to think of it) focuses more on the offender—on the person who committed the violence. That’s why most of us can rattle off (1) Adolph Hitler, (2) Slobodan Milosevic, and (3) Pol Pot pretty easily.

It’s a little harder to come up with the names of the rescuers. People like (1) Jan and Miep Gies (2) Marcel Marceau (yes, THAT Marcel Marceau—his father died in Auschwitz, but he and his brother helped to rescue many children), and (3) Paul Rusesabagina.

When I shared my hypothesis with Dr. Huginkiss, she suggested this video. The father of one of the Aurora victims challenges the news media to focus on the victims of the shooting:

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/23/remembering-a-hero-in-the-aurora-shooting/?hpt=ac_t2

(Unfortunately, the video was cut off at the end. He asks how many people can name anyone other than Gabby Giffords who was killed or injured in the Arizona shootings last year. I wonder, however, how many can name the shooter. I certainly can, but as a CJ professor I've read about the case extensively.)

I have intentionally not mentioned the name of the Aurora shooter in this article. In an attempt to spread knowledge about the victims of this tragedy, I encourage people to learn about the victims. They are:

• Jonathan Blunk, 26 years old, U.S. Navy. Covered his girlfriend to protect her.
• Alexander J (AJ) Boik, 18 years old, recent HG graduate.
• Jesse Childress, 29 years old, U.S. Air Force. Sheilded a friend from gunfire, and saved her life.
• Gordon Cowden, 51, attended with his two teenaged children. Shouted 'I love you!' to them as they raced from the theater.
• Jessica Ghawi, sports journalist. She counted herself lucky to have narrowly missed a public shooting in Toronto just one month prior to Aurora.
• John Larimer, 27 years old, U.S. Navy. Jumped over his seat to protect his girlfriend.
• Matt McQuinn, 27 years old, shielded his girlfriend and her brother from gunfire.
• Micayla Medek, 23 years old, college student.
• Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6 years old, attended with her mother.
• Alex Sullivan, 27 years old, was celebrating his birthday and first wedding anniversary. Tweeted "Best Birthday Ever" earlier that evening.
• Alex Teves, 24, just completed his graduate degree. He protected his girlfriend from gunfire.
• Rebecca Wingo, 32 years old, mother of two.