Local man recounts Colo. shooting

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - Four months ago, the nation was rocked by a horrific shooting inside a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Police say James Holmes opened fire inside a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises," killing 12 people and injuring 58. Virginia Beach native Marcus Weaver was one of those hurt.

He told WAVY News 10's Cheryl Tan he doesn't regret going to the movies on July 20, a day earlier than he planned.  But it's something he will never forget.

"It was a surreal situation as the gunman started firing in the movie theater that day.  Everybody thought it was part of the movie," he said.

Weaver returned to Virginia Beach for the first time since the shootings, to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with family.

"Still to this day, the thing I remember the most is the thunder, the chaos, the sound, and the visuals of the people who were hurt," Weaver said.

Weaver managed to escape the violence in Theater 9.  His friend, Rebecca Wingo, did not make it out with him.

"Could I have done more, could I have saved my friend, could I have grabbed the gunman, all these thoughts were going through my head," he said.

Therapists, friends, and loved ones helped him get through those first few weeks.  He has some nerve damage from two gunshots to his right shoulder.

"I don't think I'll ever get that out of my head, but at the same time I've learned to be at peace with it," Weaver said.

Peace comes through work, community work Weaver did before the shooting, at a Denver non-profit called Bud's Warehouse, which helps those coming out of prison find a second chance.   

He said, " When you help others, it kind of helps you."

Weaver's mission hasn't changed, it has just gotten more intense.

"We're ready to move on from the anger part because when you hold onto those seeds of discontent they just spill out in other places, and then he's won," he said.

Weaver said he has gotten plenty of support from his friends and family in Virginia Beach.  He was happy to reconnect with them this month.  He is a 1989 graduate of Green Run High School.

"My friends in Green Run and the Virginia Beach area are truly, truly, truly the ones who got me through," he said.

The movie theater Weaver used to enjoy as an escape doesn't work for him anymore.  So now, Weaver believes healing will come from within the community that's grown stronger through tragedy.
 
"If I can be a part of that, just by talking about the event and showing people I'm moving forward and getting along and trying the best I can each day, maybe that's what my thing is supposed to be, a light out of the darkness," Weaver said.

Weaver is currently working on a book about his experiences.