survivors. tonight we reach out to each other and love each other and love our neighbors. and demonstrate what it means to be a community of good caring and loving people. >> good caring, and loving people. and the mayor saying this community not defined by the tragedy, they're defined by the collective spirits and how well they help each other. the president of the united states speaking moments before this memorial service. speaking from the university of colorado. the president reading a bible verse starting off and talking about the heroes. as well saying he did not want to talk about the suspect and said over time that his name will fade away. the mentioning of his name will fade away especially when the full force of the law comes down on him and he will be tomorrow in court and we will bring that to you tomorrow.

just before we go back to the memorial service that wrapped up, i want to show you what's happening at the theater. there's a makeshift memorial just across the street from the theater. people are leaving the big memorial service and they are coming here. we have seen members of motorcycle groups. let's pan over because we don't have the camera here. just across the street there they are. people are leaving and coming to this spot to pay tribute to the people who died and also to support each other. so the main memorial. the service may be over, but this is serving as a memorial where the people of aurora will get together for days to come here. let's go back to the service that just wrapped up. you were there, you experienced it, it was very emotional.

looking at the pictures of the people who survived the shooting, you couldn't help -- your heart couldn't help but breaking by watching those people because they were crying but comforted by the folks around them. >> when you see the wide ranges of faces here in the crowd, you get the sense of the heart of this community. aurora, colorado, is a diverse community. it's filled with people who are older, people who are young, people brought their children here because they wanted to create a collective force against that very, very ugly event that happened at the theater. this is just wrapping up behind me. and the hymn they ended on was "amazing grace" and you could feel this emotional power swelling out of this crowd as people were singing, people were holding up their children, kissing them, hugging people

they didn't appear to know. and it was truly remarkable. earlier in the memorial, families filed in carrying posters with pictures of their lost ones. people who had died that night. what this memorial was about was acknowledging the people who had died. but then, it was about working toward that very difficult step of trying to heal. and the words of one of the speakers here, "let the healing begin," that's what this was about, the first tentative step for an entire city, an entire community to figure out how to move beyond what happened in that theater, don. >> and kyong, stay with me as i go through. let's talk about the words of governor john hickenlooper, he talked about the heroic efforts of the people who went into that theater to help out after that gunman went in on a rampage. and in particular, he says, i refuse to say his name, and he

got huge applause from the crowd. he says i will only call him at this point suspect "a." and i want to tell you, if you want to help out. if we can put that up because i think this is very important. if we can put this up on the screen. givingfirst.org is where you can go if you want to donate to the family members and help out those who are suffering so much here. there's a website right here. givingfirst.org. now back to the pictures. so many people are showing up after leaving the memorial service where you are that people are having to direct traffic because this is -- appears to be a gathering spot. and who knows how long these folks are going to be out here at this service. the one across the street from the theater where i am, who knows how long these folks are going to be out here. but there's definitely a lot of activity going on. and at that theater, there's more police cars and appears that the police are blocking the

theater so that at least the parking lot so that people cannot get in. so also, the mayor speaking, as well, reeling off the names of all of those who lost their lives. and saying that no matter how long it takes, no matter how much it costs that he would be there for the people who -- the entire community and state would be there for the people who lost loved ones. >> absolutely. he said he would be here. all the government officials were here. and something we should point out is that we didn't get to actually hear any of the voices of these family members or the victims themselves. they chose and elected to pick clergy. members of the religious faith. because this was in essence a prayer vigil. this was an opportunity for this community to look for a reason. and it has been so difficult when you sit in the hospital

rooms with the victims, they all have the same question. why did this happen? who can we turn to for answers? and what they're learning and what we're getting the sense of from the people here at these memorials is that they have to figure that out together as a community. because if they don't do that, they're not going to know who to blame. and they absolutely like you said, don, they do not want to name the suspect. when that happened, everyone did applaud. there was a tremendous response here at the memorial. no one wants to focus on what actually happened. the bad guy. they want to focus on how this community is going to get back on its feet and be the city of aurora again. >> all right. standby. you know, we don't know exactly what's going on here, but it appears that the community is gathering here after leaving the aurora municipal center's memorial service. some of them are staying there. that's the service. but it appears many of them are

coming over now across the street from the theater where there's a makeshift memorial. and there's a lot of activity around the theater. looks like something official, we're not exactly sure. but again, there's a lot of movement and a lot of people coming here. police officers and motor groups that have surrounded the area. and over that theater. over my shoulder behind me, the century 16 theaters, of course, where that horrific shooting happened on midnight thursday, early morning on friday, and it has been about 48 hours or so since that happened, and this community unbelievably coming together and rising up from this and every single person, almost to a person we have spoken to has said we're not going to let this get us down. and that's the sentiment from everyone here. i almost hate to do this. i'm just going to go to the neighborhood where that shooter is, but i'm not going to go

there now because it's not about him, this is about the people of aurora and the survivors. and i think we should linger on these pictures and talk a little bit more about what these folks are having to deal with. the president came here and very quickly hastily arranged trip. at first we weren't sure if he was going to come and speak. but he did speak to the people of aurora and quite frankly about an hour late. supposed to speak at 7:30 eastern, maybe more than an hour late. i can only imagine because he wanted to spend as much time as possible with people. and from every account, the president comforted the folks in the hospital and took as much time as he could to personally spend with him and speaying he would not mention the shooter's name.

he started off reading from the bible, at least a reading from the bible. it was revelation 21:4, and he said, and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more, nor shall there be mourning or crying or pain, the first things have passed away. that was a reading and i thought it was appropriate because many people need their faith, many of them, when something tragic like this happens. we want to listen now to the president of the united states as he spoke earlier at university hospital of colorado. >> as heartbreaking as it is for the families, it's worth us reflecting on young americans

because they represent what's best in us. and they assure us out of this darkness, a brighter day's going to come. >> we'll have the president's full remarks later on this hour. we're going to be live at least until 11:00 p.m. eastern to cover this story. i'm going to get back to my colleague who is covering the memorial service that wrapped up a short time ago. she has spoken with someone that met with the president. >> reporter: yeah, the patient i spoke with, this is a man i met who was hit with all three guns. he has fragments of all three guns in his body. and he is at the university of colorado hospital. he met with the president this afternoon, and he and other patients had a chance to listen to the president. he said he was honored to meet him. patrick o'farrell, a young man

quite extraordinary. he says he has forgiveness in his heart and said he was honored that the president came here. he said the president said the entire nation is behind the wounded people here. and you can definitely get a sense that this community appreciates it. what we're seeing here at the memorial are people continuing to lay flowers at this statue. and it's really quite extraordinary. people of all ages continuing to lay flowers and you feel the force not just what the president did today, but of this entire community trying to come together and remind all the victims they're not alone in this, don. >> and as we heard earlier -- if you'll stay with me, we'll continue to talk here. but, again, this is really about the 12 victims. and we didn't have full names when the mayor read them off, but it's jessica ghawi, her brother came to speak with me and has been talking on cnn and

has been very strong. jessica, veronica moser-sullivan, larimer, james boik, jonathan t. blunk, rebecca ann wingo, alex m. sullivan, gordon cowden, alexander c. teves. and then matthew mcquinn. those are the people who lost their lives in this horrific incident. one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly

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we're back live where a memorial service wrapped up moments ago at the municipal center. where the governor spoke, the mayor spoke, and before that the president of the united states also addressed the people here and the nation at the university of colorado hospital. where you're looking at now is another memorial, a makeshift memorial that really was erected just after the shooting -- at daybreak following the shooting. people have been leaving and coming over here and there's a sign that says angels walk with those who grieve. we're going to get back to all of what's happening here in

aurora. there's still much more to tell you about here. but we want to get to cnn's tom foreman. tom foreman back in washington for us and has the day's other headlines. what do you have for us? >> we've been tracking all day the developments expected tomorrow at penn state university. and this evening a source tells us that significant unprecedented penalties will be leveed against the school tomorrow, including at least $30 million in fines. the punishments follow the release of a report slamming the school's former leaders including coach joe paterno for ignoring suspicion of child abuse by former assistant coach jerry sandusky. today the school removed a statue from outside the stadium. earlier i spoke with susan candiotti about the penalties. >> penn state football faces what they're calling unprecedented penalties that are "well beyond what has been done in the past. however, the school will not face the so-called death penalty

that would've meant no football this fall. but in some ways, these penalties will be worse than the death penalty, an outcome worse for current players. there are provisions in the plan to minimize the impact on those students. >> let's turn now to international headlines. syrian rebels are fighting for the biggest countries, lepo and damascus. this was today. that's the sound of gunfire. the free syrian army has seized the infantry school north of aleppo. 111 people were killed across syria today. and an afghan policeman turned his gun on civilians. they were civilian contractors working at the center, the gunman was also killed. a police official says the motive for that shooting is

unknown. even as we're riveted by what's happening in colorado, we can't forget this. a year ago today a man went on a rampage in norway killing 77 people, most of them teenagers at an island summer camp norway's prime minister called it a time to honor the dead by celebrating life. the gunman anders breivik is a self-described ultranationalist. quite a sad anniversary there, as well, don. we come back to you in aurora where people are dealing with their own tragedies now in a similar vein. >> absolutely, tom. we'll see you later on with more of the headlines. when we come back here on cnn, we're going to hear survivor stories. friends who huddle together to survive that deadly shooting. [ kyle ] my bad. [ roger ] tell me you have good insurance. yup, i've got... [ voice of dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ kyle ] nope, i've got... [ voice of dennis ] ...the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance --

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the first known victim of the aurora, colorado, mass theater shooting jessica ghawi. last month she survived a mall shooting in toronto while visiting her boyfriend. according to witnesses, she died from a gun shot wound to the head. as we learn more details about the horrors that went on in that colorado movie theater, the one that's right over my shoulder here, we are also hearing about moments of great bravery, like jonathan blunk, the 26-year-old veteran who died trying to save someone else's life. earlier his wife joined me from reno, nevada. most of us can't imagine what that family is going through. i asked her how she is holding up. >> i'm trying to hold up. i'm trying to be okay. >> and we understand that --

listen, we didn't get a chance to meet your husband jonathan. how would you like the world to remember him? >> johnny was the type that always wanted to be the hero, help anybody in any way he can. always wanted to make people smile and laugh. he was always very optimistic and outgoing. spon taken yoes, always trying to do anything crazy and dangerous. so when we heard that it was him trying to save somebody, everybody just knew that that was johnny, that was the type of person he was. >> you have two children. you have a 4-year-old daughter, 2-year-old son, and as i said, it must take incredible strength to deal with that and grieving while dealing with young children, as well. how are your kids doing? >> our daughter haley who is the 4-year-old, the oldest, she keeps asking when daddy's coming

because he was supposed to fly back from reno yesterday. and she had her dress all picked out ready to go for what she wanted to wear and made her welcome home sign for him. and when i heard friday and i still didn't tell her friday night when i found out, i had to tell her saturday morning that we weren't going to the airport to pick him up and tried to explain why we weren't getting him that daddy was gone and still loved us and somebody took him from us. she said she cried and then she asked, well, is daddy still going to come for my birthday because he promised? and then i have to explain it again and it's been like that since -- and my 2-year-old son, he's only 2, so he doesn't get it. he doesn't understand either. but my daughter's very confused.

>> do you feel like people have been saying, chantel, that jo jonathan died trying to save someone else's life. he apparently covered up someone. he died a hero. >> i know. and that was johnny. johnny was the type of person that always wanted to be the hero and he always said, you know, if he was ever going to die, he wanted it to be in battle. and he wanted to be known as a hero to his kids and to me and friends and family, he just wanted everyone to look at him as that guy. so it's not a surprise at all. >> oh, boy. chantel, you're working on a heroes memorial for jonathan.

can you tell me and the viewers about that? >> he has lots of friends in the military that are trying to help me because he wasn't active duty. we're trying to bring his body back. he has a very good friend that was his boss in the military and his other friends jeff keenan and kyle dawson and james gil, they're all trying to help bring him home. and amy was able -- because she's still with them and talked to them about getting the gunsman line, and they're going to have -- he's going to have his military funeral. he's going to have his military burial. >> chantel, i can't even imagine the strength it takes to come on and do this when this has happened to you and your family. we thank you so much and we're praying for you. okay? >> thank you. and up next, a survivor, one

of five friends, two of five friends who went to the theater nine that night. one of them says he never wants to see that movie and never wants to go to another theater ever again. and then ahead, a look at some of the military victims in this tragedy. energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy development comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing generations of cleaner-burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self-contained well systems. and, using state-of-the-art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment. we're america's natural gas.

for many of us, the tragic stories out of aurora are burned into our minds. it's very hard to forget. but there are also amazing stories of survival. amazing stories of survival and courage and we want to tell you about one. nick and devon were 2 of 5 friends who went into theater nine that night. and nick and devon join us now. and thankfully you all made it out. sadly, many people did not. first of all, how are your friends? nick, i'll start with you.

some were hurt pretty bad, it sounds like. >> yeah. my friend lewis is doing all right. he's at home. his whole arm and both his hands are shot up pretty bad and his head. and our other friend ryan is in the hospital right now. but he's expected to recover in about two weeks. >> devon, with all the smoke in the dark, did any of you know what you were up against in all of this? did you know -- what did you think of what was happening? >> at first i initially thought it was a prank. i had no idea that it was a shooting at first until i started hearing people screaming and i saw the flashes. and at that point, at that point i knew something was up. and it -- it was nothing glamorous -- nothing like you see in a movie or a video game. everything there was -- it was

real. and -- it was real. >> nick, did it help at all the memorial service that just happened? you both were there. did it help you out at all? >> yeah. you know, the memorial service was amazing. you know, all the speeches were really encouraging and inspiring and especially at this time. i feel like that's exactly what people need. especially anybody that was involved or knew people that were involved. i feel like that's exactly what they need. >> devon, a lot has been made of people here saying in the community, the leaders, as well, that this community's going to move on. they don't want to focus on the suspected shooter. they want to move on. you're moving on. am i correct? you're going off to college, playing football? >> can you repeat the question, please? i'm sorry. >> i said you're moving on, you're going off to college in

the fall, what are you planning to do to move on from this? >> you know, i believe that jesus christ is my savior, he pulled me out of that. and through him, that's how i'm going to move on. that's how i've been moving on. that's how i've been continuing to go on. even in college, like life moves on, the world is going to go around. and without the lord, i would be lost. without the lord i would be dead. so it's him. he's picking me up. he's helping me move on. that's the only way for me. >> well, we're glad that you guys are okay. we're sorry, of course, that you had to suffer through all of this, and we wish you the very best. nick and devon, and they surv e survived that horrific incident in that theater, the largest mass shooting in u.s. history. thank you, guys. next up, you're going to hear president obama's remarks after his visit with families of

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only enlisted with the u.s. navy for less than a year, 27-year-old serviceman john larimer was in his first posting. his father scott says they're struggling with the news that he was shot and killed in the movie theater. they say their thoughts and prayers are with the families of the other victims. >> when you join the military, you know the risks with your country at war, your life could be put on the line. ironically three of the victims in aurora came home from the military service only to die in that movie theater massacre. here's cnn's poppy harlow. >> if you could talk to jesse

now, what would you say? >> he wanted to wait until saturday to watch the movie. i shouldn't have asked him to come to the thursday night midnight premiere. >> it's not your fault, okay? it's not your fault. >> your last text to him was -- >> please let me know you're okay. >> never heard back? >> never heard back. >> two friends who served with him in the air force grieving the death of 29-year-old staff sergeant jesse childress. >> i think of someone, a big nerd, someone always humorous, always made the office brighter. >> fun loving, caring, going out of his way to help anybody inside the unit and outside the unit. >> childress was a cyber systems activator on duty just a few miles from the movie theater where he was gunned down. alex sanchez and kevin tou served with him. they were in theater eight, childress was in theater nine.

>> we walked around for two hours looking for childress and other people who had seen ch childress. >> you never found him. >> john larimer, 27 years old in the navy only a year. >> john had that calming personality that everybody seemed to gravitate to. he was one of those very extremely competent professionals that had, you know, an extraordinary work ethic and was truly dedicated to the mission, the navy, and really all the sailors that he worked alongside. >> his family in crystal lake, illinois, said we love you, john, and we will miss you always. >> he was a great sailor. he joined the navy to serve his country, and to defend the freedoms of this country. you can't say enough about someone who wants to join and serve and protect his country. >> larimer followed the path of his father and grandfather, both navy men.

he will be buried with full military honors. 26-year-old john blunk, father of two young children who served in the navy until 2009 and was planning to reenlist. he threw himself on top of his girlfriend in the movie theater, saving her life and losing his own. >> he saved me and he gave me the opportunity to live and i prayed to john last night. john, i love you. i'm so grateful for what you've done for me. >> three men not even 30 who lost in less than a minute. >> we will never forget those names and they won't, as well. i thought it was interesting when the guy had his cell phone and he said, i'm not -- i'm never going to get rid of this text message. >> he's never going to get rid of that text message. that's kevin who we spent a lot

of the day with. he said he feels almost guilty. he said we're the ones that convinced jesse to come to the movie tonight. he wanted to go on saturday instead. and i kept saying to them, it's not your fault, it's not your fault. and kevin told me, i don't think i'll ever go to a movie again. that's how shaken he is. you think about these men, don, who serve this country, they choose to enlist, and none of them were 30 years old. they were all younger than we are and they lost their lives. >> jonathan blunk, right? >> yeah. >> i interviewed -- hate to say this -- his widow. and she wants to move on and the sad thing she said her daughter said daddy was going to come home and hang out with me and take me places and she doesn't know how -- >> her daughter, haley, 4 years old, what their daughter is doing now. she's listening to the voice mail of -- just to hear her father's voice over and over again. she at least will have some memory of him. and for that son, he doesn't even know what's going on.

but three men who gave a lot to this country. >> it's so sad. these folks are so resilient. they have the world behind them. thank you very much, poppy harlow. when we come back, we're going to take you back to that memorial service and you're going to hear from the president of the united states. i confessed to them that words are always inadequate in these kinds of situations. but that my main task was to serve as a representative of the entire country and let them know that we are thinking about them at this moment and we'll continue to think about them each and every day.

president obama today paid a personal visit to the stunned

community of aurora, colorado. he met the governor and the mayor, but spent the most time with people who were injured in that horrible shooting. and with families of those who died. he spoke briefly afterward, and we want you to hear his comment. here's the president in aurora earlier this evening. >> i had a chance to visit with each family. and most of the conversation was filled with memory. it was an opportunity for families to describe how wonderful their brother or their son or daughter was. and the lives that they had touched and the dreams that they held for the future. i confessed to them that words are always inadequate in these kinds of situations. but that my main task was to serve as a representative of the entire country and let them know

that we are thinking about them at this moment and we'll continue to think about them each and every day. and that the awareness that not only all of america but much of the world is thinking about them might serve as some comfort. i also tried to assure them that although the perpetrator of this evil act has received a lot of attention over the last couple of days. that attention will fade away. and in the end after he has felt the full force of our justice system, what will be remembered are the good people who were impacted by this tragedy. and i also have a chance to give folks some hugs and to shed some tears, but also to share some

laughs as they remembered the wonderful lives that these men and women represented. i also had a chance, fortunately, to visit some folks who are going to be okay thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the staff at this hospital. and i just want to thank everybody who has worked tirelessly here to deal with this tragedy.

we have really seen some very emotional scenes here in aurora, colorado, today. starting with the makeshift memorial set up across the street. and then this one. this is the site of the official memorial service that was held at the aurora municipal center earlier this evening. started off with choirs and with singers and then the mayor of aurora introduced -- steve hogan introduced the governor of colorado, john hickenlooper. and just to tell you a little bit about what they talked about today. everyone pretty much from the mayor to the governor, even the president of the united states really striking the same tone.

and the same sentiment saying they didn't really want to talk about and focus on this shooter, this alleged 24-year-old alleged shooter here they wanted to talk about the people in this community. they wanted to talk about the survivors, they talked about the heroes. and when they said they didn't want to talk about this guy, they got applause from a crowd that was very somber for all of the day. and for people who have been somber and sad and grieving and have been for more than 48 hours now. and as we look at these dramatic pictures, you see people hugging, embracing, and really drawing together, drawing themselves together and trying to rise up out of this tragedy. and they said that they would rise out of this tragedy, that this community would come back to life and be an even better community than it was before. i've heard you. people who -- people who have been reaching out, viewers who have been saying we don't want to hear about this suspected gunman any more. it's not time to talk about him.

we can talk about him tomorrow when he enters the courtroom tomorrow morning. and i'll be at that courtroom and maybe we'll learn something about him. but now is the time to focus on this community to focus on the family members, to focus on the loved ones, to focus on the people who were lost. mothers, fathers, people who are in the military. even a 6-year-old girl. and it may just be 12 people, which is -- which a lot of people, the biggest mass shooting in u.s. history. but it -- this reverberating throughout the country and throughout the world. thousands and thousands if not millions of people are affected by this. final thoughts when we come back.

so tomorrow, we will focus on the suspect when he enters a courtroom. but right now, we want to focus on this community. a community that has really had a very tumultuous day and a community who right now are gathering together and pulling each other up and there are some very brave men and women and who live in this community and who are vowing, vowing now that they will come back and they will not let this incident ruin their happy lives and their wonderful community. so i'm going to leave you with the sights and sounds of the

day. and of people who we are thinking about and praying about and we will be for quite some time now. i'm don lemon, thanks for joining us. i'll see you tomorrow here on cnn. >> every tear from their eyes. and death shall be no more. neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away. ♪ ♪

♪ . the search for answers. the suspect's court appearance hours away. >> hope and healing. some members struggle to survive their wounds as the community gathers to pay tribute to those lost. punishment for penn state, a day after joe paterno's statue comes down, unprecedented penalties are due for the jerry sandusky scandal. good morning, everyone. welcome to "early start." >> it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. also ahead for you, a closer look at the arsenal that holmes

he massed. >> he was a very tense weekend in the middle east with the u.s. stepping up its presence around syria providing more help to the rebels. how far will our government go? we'll have a live report from the middle east. >> but first, of course, our top story here. the man accused of one of the worst shooting massacres in u.s. history will make his first court appearance in a few hours. police say it could take months before we know why he carried out this senseless act of violence during a midnight movie premier. 24-year-old james holmes accused of killing 12 people, wounding 58 people including mothers, fathers, members of the military, even a 6-year-old girl. eight are still in critical condition this morning. >> we are learning that budding scientist allegedly was planning this for months. his apartment was rigged with trip wires, gas canisters that a