Theater Shooting Survivor Didn't Think He'd Make It: 'It's A Nightmare'
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4)- Jamie Rohrs has been the subject of criticism for leaving his girlfriend and her children behind in the theater when the gunman started shooting. On Wednesday he told his story in court.
Rohrs was attending the Batman movie premiere with his girlfriend and her two children when gunfire rang out, he grabbed her 4-month-old boy and tried to run away.
"At a point you realize you aren't going to make it, people are dropping right in front of you, at the time you feel like it's a nightmare," said Rohrs.
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He said he was injured when he tripped, trying to get out of the smoke-filled theater. At one point, he put the child down.
"I turned around to look for him and I couldn't find him and at that time shots started going off again," said Rohrs.
He said he realized he had to jump or he was going to die.
"I jumped off over the balcony and I was thinking to myself, you know, when I was down there, that they're still in there and I have to go back and get my family," said Rohrs.
He said he felt he would get killed if he went back in. His story has been the subject of criticism for failing to remain with his family and make sure they got out safely.
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Upon reaching the parking lot, he said he thought they were dead but they were eventually reunited.
That night, Rohrs proposed to his girlfriend at the hospital. She accepted.
The gunman in the July 2012 shooting that left 12 people dead and 70 others injured was James Holmes. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
