Story highlights
NEW: Couple who took two children to movie give emotional account of what happened
Dozens of people were treated in five Denver-area hospitals after the shootings
At least three service members also were hurt, the Pentagon says
Hospitals across the Denver metropolitan area treated dozens of people, many of them critically wounded, in the aftermath of Friday’s mass shooting at a movie theater.
The youngest of the injured, a 4-month-old boy, was treated and released from a hospital.
Ten people died at the theater in Aurora and two died later at hospitals, officials said. Another 58 people were injured in the massacre.
Among the dead was an aspiring Colorado sports reporter in her mid-20s, according to a statement from her brother.
“Jessica (Ghawi) has indeed died of injuries sustained in the shooting,” Jordan Ghawi said on his blog, citing the coroner’s office.
Families of the victims had not been notified by midafternoon Friday because there was still an active investigation at the crime scene, Aurora police said.
Patricia Legarreta, who went to the movie with her fiance, their 4-month-old baby and 4-year-old daughter, tearfully recalled what happened.
Legarreta, who suffered wounds to the leg, said she grabbed her son and daughter and headed for the door. “There was a moment where my daughter tripped. I pulled her up and I was just dragging her and I was just thinking we’ve just got to get out.”
Legarreta and her fiance, Jamie Rohrs, later spoke about their ordeal on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight.”
“I’m trying to get out of the way but people are falling next to me, but I am all right, thinking this is it,” said Rohrs.
In the chaos, the couple, who had recently moved to Colorado from New Mexico, became separated. Rohrs eventually learned Legarreta and their children made it out of the theater.
At the hospital, the couple had an unexpected conversation.
“He had gone to the restroom and came out,” Legarreta said of Rohrs. “And he just looked at me and he said ‘I know this is not the time and place, but will you marry me?’ And I said, ‘yes.’ Going through 10 minutes of thinking he was dead and I would never see him again, you never want that feeling again.”
Gunman fires on audience in Colorado theater
The wounded were being treated at five medical centers. CNN was unable to account for all 58 injured from lists provided by officials. Hospitals gave these accounts Friday afternoon:
– University of Colorado Hospital had 23 patients, nine remaining in critical condition. Ten patients were treated and released.
– Denver Health Medical Center received six patients. Three remained in fair condition and three were released. A patient was transported to the hospital later and was in fair condition.
– Children’s Hospital Colorado said it had six injured, ranging from critical to good condition. One patient had passed away.
– Swedish Medical Center had three patients in fair condition. A 19-year-old man was treated and released.
– Parker Adventist Hospital treated and released two patients.
U.S. troops were among the casualties in the shooting rampage at the Century 16 movie theaters, the Pentagon said Friday.
The Defense Department released a statement that said one sailor was injured and another one, known to have been at the theater, was unaccounted for. Two airmen were wounded in the incident, it said.
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Witnesses described Friday’s deadly shooting as harrowing and chaotic, while victims and their families tried to cope with the bloody aftermath.
In Friday’s early morning hours, a police officer was seen carrying a young girl, described as bloodied and motionless.
“I honestly can’t think of any kind of person who would intentionally hurt a little girl,” Alex Milano told CNN affiliate KUSA. “I don’t know whose little girl that was, but my heart goes out to them.”
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“I saw at least four maybe five people who were limping, wounded,” said Milano. “The most that I saw was a girl that was pretty much covered in blood, and she didn’t have any wounds on her. It made me think the worst.”
“There was this one guy who was on all fours crawling. There was this girl spitting up blood,” Donovan Tate recalled to CNN affiliate KCNC. “There were bullet holes in some people’s backs, some people’s arms.”
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CNN’s David Ariosto, Joe Sutton, Phil Gast, Audrey Irvine and Dave Alsup contributed to this report
