SILVER SPRING, Md. (WUSA) - The Aurora massacre continues to send shock waves throughout the country.
Here in the Washington area, reluctant crowds are still showing up to the movie theatres, many of them realizing the threat of a copy cat attack exists.
Ken Molestina spoke to a former FBI profiler who helped put the heightened alert into perspective. She says it's still highly unlikely that it could happen again, but crowds are certainly thinking about the possibility, including at the Majestic Theatre in downtown Silver Spring.
Security is certainly visible and the crowds showing up are doing so with some hesitation. One moviegoer said, "It's going to be a while before its not very present in our minds."
That kind of reaction is to be expected, according to Dr. Mary Ellen O'Toole.
She said, " There are pepple that will decide I'm not going to go to that movie now because what if that happens to me? So I think that really has brough out the fear."
She is a former FBI criminal profiler and has studied countless cases involving crazed gunmen on shooting rampages just like the massacre in Aurora.
She said, "These indiviudals somewhere along the line...they look at other human beings as less than humans. We call it objectifying people."
The 24-year-old suspect, james Holmes, was a PhD. student studying neurosciences. A bright man, says O'Toole, who had allegedly been planning the massacre for a long time.
"This is someone who is very smart is able to be focused, and is able to be analytical, and he can address compound issues," she said.
The fear of a copy cat attack may be real in the minds of many, but O'Toole reminds people that " this kind of shooting, this kind of a mass homicide is rare....but it's going to take us a while, at least a number of days, for people to have their fear lessen."
Another Testament to what Dr. O'toole is describing is the new guideline being implemented by AMC theatres nationwide.
Movie goers will not be allowed to wear masks or bring toy guns into the theatres, and they will also be prohibited from wearing any costumes that make other guests feel uncomfortable.