Not so fast.
Not those three.
(Reuters) - The family of suspected gunman James Eagan Holmes said on Friday their hearts go out to those involved in the Colorado movie shooting and asked for their privacy to be respected.
Twelve people were killed and 59 injured early on Friday when a gunman in a gas mask hurled a gas canister into the midnight showing of the new "Batman" movie in Aurora, a Denver suburb, and started shooting.
The 24-year-old suspect, who was taken into custody, was in the process of withdrawing from the graduate program in neurosciences at the University of Colorado Denver, a school spokesman said.
In San Diego, where Holmes' parents live, police Lieutenant Andra Brown read a statement from the family.
"Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the families and friends of those involved. We ask that the media respect our privacy during this difficult time," it said.
"Our family is cooperating with authorities in both San Diego, California and Aurora, Colorado. We are still trying to process this information and we appreciate that people will respect our privacy."
Brown said Holmes had graduated from high school in San Diego but did not specify which school he attended.
Frankly, it took almost twenty four hours longer than I thought it would.
And I was more than a little surprised when the "suspect's" name first came to
light.
James Holmes.
What?
Something missing here, kids.
Something that appears, literally without fail, in any and all reports of any kind of shooting, most often, sadly, of the mass killing kind.
The middle name.
There's something about infamy, especially infamy of any or all caliber types, that seems to dictate that the suspect/perp, et al will be immediately and forever identified with his or her full name.
I'm not sure when that custom became customary (I'm sure a quick Google/Wikipedia romp would clear that fog, but breakfast is waiting and I've got things to do today), but, for me, childhood reading and/or experience taught me that infamous assassins were always indentified with a triple monniker.
John Wilkes Booth.
Lee Harvey Oswald.
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan.
James Earl Ray.
When it came to Presidential killers, as a matter of fact, even the wanna be's got the three title treatment.
Sara Jane Moore.
And nicknames were added, as necessary to complete the trifecta.
Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme.
Soon, even the more mundane, less historic, yet equally heinous wack jobs were good for three.
John Wayne Gacy.
And let's not forget some of the other oldies but goodies.
Mark David Chapman.
Osama Bin Laden.
Personally I suspect it all got started with one of the most famous of the infamous.
Jack The Ripper.
Although the whole thing may simply have resulted from some young, careless cub reporter failing to realize that "The" was, in fact, not a name.
Regardless of origin, the three name assignment has become traditional. And even allowing for the fact that the middle name may be included so as to spare, for example, hard working, everyday good guy James Ray from being confused with rifle totin, redneck assassin James Earl Ray, the point is still pointless.
Like there's not hundreds, even thousands of hard working, everyday good guys named James Earl Ray out there.
So, custom considered, imagine my surprise when an entire news saturated day passed with only James Holmes being pegged as the perp.
And imagine my smug head nod when, finally, this morning, I came across the aforementioned AP story that has now put everything right again.
James Eagan Holmes.
Because that middle name seems to matter.
Although I can't, for the life of me, imagine why.
Just ask one of the good guy James Earl Rays.
About still being confused with the rifle totin, redneck assassin James Earl Ray.
Who, by the way...
killed Martin Luther King.
Now what's that all about?
Makes no damn sense.
Or my name isn't Scott Edward Phelps.
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