UPDATE:
About the two military fatalities:
Air Force Staff Sgt. Jesse Childress (Courtesy photo)
Air Force Staff Sgt. Jesse Childress was stationed at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora. He hailed from the Palmdale, California area.
He had gone to the midnight showing of the film, “The Dark Knight Rises,” with two other service members.
He died trying to protect a friend during the mass shooting at the Aurora movie theater.
He was a cyber systems operator at Buckley.
He joined the service in 2002.
He was serving his country.
He was a hero.
He was 29.
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Petty Officer Third Class John T. Larimer
Petty Officer Third Class John Larimer was also stationed at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora. He was from Crystal Lake, Ill.
He had also gone to see the midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises.”
He died in the senseless attack at the Aurora movie theater.
He was a cryptologic technician at Buckley.
He joined the service in 2011.
He was serving his country.
He was a hero.
He was 27.
Both will be laid to rest with full military honors.
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Initially, news reports indicated that military service members from Buckley Air Force Base, Colo. were among those injured in the tragic mass shooting in Aurora, Colo.
Subsequent reports said that one sailor and two airmen had been injured at the theatre that evening and that one sailor known to have been at the theatre was “currently unaccounted for.”
As the hours passed the news grew grimmer.
A few hours ago the U.S. Navy confirmed that Petty Officer Third Class John Larimer, 27, of Crystal Lake, Ill., had died from injuries sustained in the incident.
The commanding officer of Larimer, Cmdr. Jeffrey Jakuboski, said, “I am incredibly saddened by the loss of Petty Officer John Larimer–he was an outstanding shipmate. A valued member of our Navy team, he will be missed by all who knew him. My heart goes out to John’s family, friends and loved ones, as well as to all victims of this horrible tragedy.”
Larimer joined the Navy June 16, 2011 and was a cryptologic technician third class. He had been stationed in Aurora since October 2011.
Just a short time ago the American Press Service made the sad announcement that another service member has died from injuries sustained in the Aurora tragedy.
It is Air Force Staff Sgt. Jesse Childress who also worked at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colo.
Staff Sgt. Jesse Childress died from injuries sustained in the incident, officials said.
American Forces Press Service adds:
Suspected gunman James Holmes allegedly killed at least 12 people and wounded 59 others early July 20 during the midnight premier of the new Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, a suburb of Denver.
In his weekly video message to the nation today, President Barack Obama asked citizens this weekend to take “some time for prayer and reflection — for the victims of this terrible tragedy, for the people who knew them and loved them, for those who are still struggling to recover, and for all the victims of the less publicized acts of violence that plague our communities on a daily basis.”
“Let us keep all these Americans in our prayers,” Obama added. “And to the people of Aurora, may the Lord bring you comfort and healing in the hard days to come.”
Image: Courtesy U.S. Navy
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.