Shooting Victims' Families Upset Over Invitation To Theater Re-Opening
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- A woman who lost her son in the Aurora theater shooting has a severe message for the company that owns the Century 16 Theater, "Inconsiderate, insensitive, disrespectful."
Caren Teves is the mother of Aurora theater shooting victim Alex Teves. He was among the 12 people killed when a gunman walked into the theater during a midnight showing of the premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises" on July 20, 2012. Fifty-eight others were injured, some of them severely. The gunman was arrested and faces trial on more than 160 charges including murder.
Caren and other victims' families received a letter inviting them to the theater grand re-opening Jan. 17.
The invitation called the day a "special evening of remembrance."
Caren said the timing of the letter is reprehensible.
"We can hardly get out of bed every day let alone holidays so for us to send this out two days after Christmas," said Caren. "It was pretty much a slap in the face."
In a tersely-worded statement to Cinemark, the company that owns the theater, Caren joined nine other families in rejecting the invitation. They called it "disgusting" and "offensive."
They also asked for a boycott of what they called "the killing field of our children."
"To offer a free ticket and RSVP for a free ticket. Really? My son paid for his life with that ticket," said Caren.
She said that Cinemark has never contacted any of the families affected by the shooting.
Caren believes to reach out to the families now is nothing but a publicity stunt, "Their greed has totally trumped all human decency."
As the re-opening day draws near, Caren said the newly-remodeled Aurora theater is a place that she and her family will never see.
"It's something we want to forget rather than remember," said Caren.
