Theater shooting relatives reject movie invitation
A group of people who lost family members in the Aurora movie theater shooting said they rejected an invitation from Cinemark USA to the reopening of the Century 16 Theater.
The Cinemark movie theater where James Holmes allegedly killed 12 people and injured 58 others will reopen mid-January and will host a series of special events beforehand for the victims.
On Jan. 17, the company is planning an invitation-only evening.
The group calling itself ‘The Families of the Aurora Cinemark Theater Massacre’ said Cinemark USA sent the invitation two days after Christmas.
“During the holiday we didn’t think anyone or anything could make our grief worse,” the group wrote in a letter. “But you, Cinemark, have managed to do just that by sending us an invitation two days after Christmas inviting us to attend the re-opening of your theater in Aurora where our loved ones were massacred.”
According to a letter sent by Cinemark to Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan last month, the Aurora Century 16 Theater will allow victims and families of victims to visit before it reopens to the general public. The company said they would work with the Colorado Organization for Victims Assistance to make arrangements for Jan. 15 and 16.
The letter said employees will also be able to arrange visits on those days.
The company announced in September that they planned to reconfigure the theater where the July 20 massacre happened.
Before the company made that announcement, the city of Aurora collected comments about ideas for the future of the theater.
