The highly anticipated premiere of the last film in the Batman trilogy was played out to anxious crowds across the country. However, a gunman cut into one of the midnight screenings and fired shots at the audience who attended a Colorado theater. As many as 12 are dead with dozens injured. As Valerie Gonzalez-Sanchez reports, some people now wonder if a city such as ours is ready for an incident like this.

This video posted on youtube chronicling the early morning's massacre at the theater in Colorado. You can see people running for the exit, that's after a lone gunman barged into a midnight screening of the 'Dark Knight', hurled a gas canister and then opened fire on the confused crowd.

As of now, several people have died as a result of the shooting, and fifty others were injured in what has been one of the deadliest shootings in recent history. Although the 24 year old former medical student, James Holmes, was quickly taken into custody, the damage is considerable.

But it begs the question, could it happen here? Danny Flores says of the theaters that "People even sneak in food, what makes you think they're not going to sneak in something dangerous."

However, we spoke with police who reassure us, though it's an unpredictable event, it would not affect local law enforcement's response to such an emergency. Laredo Police Chief Torres says "We are prepared to answer emergency calls like this. We have bomb squads. We have a SWAT team in place; we have resources. Of course, we have 24/7 coverage of our uniform personnel around the city."

Preventative measures are also advised such as having a security assessment done on your particular building to receive security recommendations to target and strengthen vulnerable areas.

Although it's said time and time again that guns don't kill, people kill, the gun issue is one that unavoidably comes up today. Misael Montalvo: "Take a closer look at who has weapons and who is able to check out these weapons. Maybe have some psychiatric evaluations regularly for gun holders."

Despite the final outcome to this incident, Lisa Jaime, says the theater experience will never be the same. "We shouldn't be worrying about guns at a family event where we are going to have to turn around."

Reporting for Pro8News, Valerie Gonzalez-Sanchez.

As a result of the shooting, Warner Brothers has canceled the premiere of the 'Dark Knight' in Paris. However, we called our local theaters who tell us the movie is still playing as scheduled here in Laredo.