What was supposed to be an exciting weekend for Batman fans & movie lovers alike, turned to tragedy early Friday morning in Aurora, CO after a lone gunman entered a theater showing ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ and opened fire; killing 12 people and injuring more than 50 others.

24 year old James Holmes surrendered to police following the shooting outside of the Century 16 movie theater. While authorities are still searching for a motive, things turned extremely frightening after Holmes told police that he ‘was the Joker’, alleging that he was attempting to play the role of a real life Batman villain.

Christopher Nolan, the writer and director of the latest Batman trilogy, released a statement this afternoon regarding the Colorado Massacre:

“Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew of ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ I would  like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community, I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating
to me. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families.”