we're going to bring in tanner coon, tanner, it's good to have you back with me. we had a chance to speak earlier today. as we have heard your story, just recount for everybody where you were in the theater as we're getting a better idea of what happened early this morning. >> i was the fourth row from the very back. i saw -- the first thing i saw was the canister thrown, with smoke trailing. i saw the first gunshot flash, and you know, up to that point, i thought there were kids throwing smoke bombs and lighting off a firecracker. then i heard more gunshots and i realized they were gunshots, and that's when i told my friends that we needed to get down. on the floor, and so that's what we did, we got down behind the seats in front of us on the floor. and the guy shot off about 20 rounds, 20, 30 rounds, and just consistent shots, and then there was a pause. i looked up, saw him, a glimpse of his silhouette, and then he started shooting again. and so i took -- ducked my head again, and then once the shooting was stopped, people started running up the stairs toward t

just weeks later another gunman would end her life. 17-year-old tanner coon survived the shooting but will never forget what he saw. >> and i tripped and slipped on some blood and landed on a lady. i shook the lady. told her you need to get up and go. there was no response. >> reporter: as police withheld the identities of the fallen frantic messages appeared on social media searching for answers and the unthinkable. if anyone knows the whereabouts of terrell hardman let him know his uncle b is desperately looking for him. alex sullivan 27. his dad can't get ahold of him. has anyone seen him? on facebook chris reassured his loved ones he was alive posting these photos. a friend of louis durant sent this picture. he is 18 years old, just graduated high school, and was thrilled to see "the dark knight" premiere, a movie ticket that changed so many lives. late today ann curry spoke with jamie rohrs who was in the theater with his family. >> i just remember seeing his head looking up at me, his little eyes and crying there. i was so frustrated about what to do. >> reporter: kristen dahlgr

. >> that's right. 17-year-old tanner coon was at the back of the theater with a friend and the friend'snow. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> you were in the back of the theater from all reports we've heard this gunman entered from the front corner of the theater. what was the first time you realized that something was going wrong in there? >> well, the first time i realized what was going on was after the first few shots were fired. before that i saw the canister fly across the room and i thought it was just some prank and then i saw the first shot and i thought it was maybe fireworks. then three more shots were set off and i knew this was real. i knew this was definitely gunshots. >> we were told that the gunman started firing at the front corner of the theater and then in some ways meticulously or methodically made his way up the steps that were in the aisle along side the side of the theater. how close do you think that gunman actually got to where you were? >> probably about maybe 20 feet. my friend the 12-year-old told me he saw him because he was on the edge of the aisle s

. >> reporter: four rows from the back of the theater, tanner coon had a bird's-eye view. >> i thoughthot was maybe a firecracker. i realized it was gunshots after three or four shots. >> reporter: he told his friends, get down. one was a 12-year-old. >> he was freaking out. he was distraught. >> reporter: it was when he crawled for the exit that he felt and saw what he can't get out of his head. >> i slipped in some blood and landed on a lady. i shook her and told her we needed to get out of here, come on, get up. there was no response. she did not move or say anything. so i presumed she was dead. >> reporter: and this was truly strange. the horror of it was not confined. walls don't always stop bullets. batman walls playing in the next room over too, where members of a football team were so excited for that movie, they broke curfew for the midnight shoechlt and one of them avoided death by what, a millimeter? >> that's something that i try not to think about and just be gradeful i came out alive. >> reporter: 17-year-old zach golditch and friends were in their seats two hours early.

. ♪ >> bill: impact segment. 17-year-old tanner coon was in the back of the the movie theater when saw canster fly across the room. at first he thought it was a prank and then all hell broke loose. tell me what you saw after that canster landed. go. >> after the canster landed i saw smoke emitting from there and just less than two seconds later there was a large flash and a large bank and i first thought that was a firecracker going along with the whole prank thing. and then it soon hit reality after another three shots were fired that i realized this was gunfire. >> bill: did you you see the man shooting? did you see him? >> no. not at this point. but later i did see his silhouette. at this point it was too dark. all i saw were the flashes. >> bill: did you see anybody get hit and were people screaming and panicking? >> yes, people were panicking. people were freaking out. i didn't see anybody get hit but i did see people who were dead when i was leaving the theater. >> bill: when did you realize there was a man in the theater shooting at you, at you, tanner and everybody else? when d

. ♪ >> bill: impact segment. 17-year-old tanner coon was in the back of the the movie theater when sawanster fly across the room. at first he thought it was a prank and then all hell broke loose. tell me what you saw after that canster landed. go. >> after the canster landed i saw smoke emitting from there and just less than two seconds later there was a large flash and a large bank and i first thought that was a firecracker going along with the whole prank thing. and then it soon hit reality after another three shots were fired that i realized this was gunfire. >> bill: did you you see the man shooting? did you see him? >> no. not at this point. but later i did see his silhouette. at this point it was too dark. all i saw were the flashes. >> bill: did you see anybody get hit and were people screaming and panicking? >> yes, people were panicking. people were freaking out. i didn't see anybody get hit but i did see people who were dead when i was leaving the theater. >> bill: when did you realize there was a man in the theater shooting at you, at you, tanner and everybody else? when did

. >> bill: impact segment. 17-year-old tanner coon was in the back of the the movie theater when sawly across the room. at first he thought it was a prank and then all hell broke loose. tell me what you saw after that canster landed. go. >> after the canster landed i saw smoke emitting from there and just less than two seconds later there was a large flash and a large bank and i first thought that was a firecracker going along with the whole prank thing. and then it soon hit reality after another three shots were fired that i realized this was gunfire. >> bill: did you you see the man shooting? did you see him? >> no. not at this point. but later i did see his silhouette. at this point it was too dark. all i saw were the flashes. >> bill: did you see anybody get hit and were people screaming and panicking? >> yes, people were panicking. people were freaking out. i didn't see anybody get hit but i did see people who were dead when i was leaving the theater. >> bill: when did you realize there was a man in the theater shooting at you, at you, tanner and everybody else? when did you rea

. >> reporter: four rows from the back of the crowded theater, 17-year-old tanner coon had a bird's-eyet was fired and i thought maybe it was a firecracker. i eercventually realized it was gunshot after three or four shots. >> reporter: he told his friends to hunker down. >> i was really scared. >> reporter: it's when tanner and his friends went for the exit that he can't get out of his head. >> i slipped on some blood. it was a lady, and i shook her and said, we have to get out of here. she didn't say anything, so i presumed she was dead. >> reporter: the horror of it was not confined. walls don't always stop bullets. batman was playing in the next room over, too, where members of a football team were so excited for that movie, they broke curfew for the midnight show. and one of them avoided death by, what, a millimeter? >> that's something that i try not to think about, you know, and just be grateful that a came out alive. >> reporter: 17-year-old zach golditch and about 30 eager friends were in their seats an hour early. good seats. they were stoked. >> there was a scene that came in

tanner coon there in aurora, colorado. we'll be back with much more on the breaking news right after this. [ barking ] i'm your dog, holding down the fort while you're out catching a movie. [ growls ] lucky for me, your friends showed up with this awesome bone. hey! you guys are great. and if you got your home insurance where you got your cut rate car insurance, it might not replace all this. [ electricity crackling ] [ gasping ] so get allstate. you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ dennis ] mayhem is everywhere. so get an allstate agent. are you in good hands? did you know honey nut cheerios is america's favorite cereal? oh, you're good! hey, did you know that honey nut cheerios is... oh you too! ooh, hey america's favorite cereal is... honey nut cheerios ok then off to iceland! constipated? phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. good morning, students. tod

. >>> we're joined now by tanner coon, who was in the theater and narrowly missed getting hit by a bullet. tanner, i'm glad you're ok. tell us what happened inside that theater. >> well, about 30 -- 20 or 30 minutes after the movie started, we saw -- i saw a canister fly across the audience. just trailing smoke. i thought it was some kind of prank. and preceded by a large flash and a bang. and i thought maybe fireworks. but after the three more shots, i realized this was real gunfire. i told my friends, get down. you know, everything is really just piecing its way back into my mind. and so after that, he shot off about 20 more rounds or so. there was a break. i stuck my head up. caught a glimpse of him, just the silhouette. and he started shooting again. and i ducked my head down. another 20 or so shots. and there was a time of quietness. and so everyone started bolting for the exit at the top. i was about four rows from the top. i went to the row behind me, and i slipped on some blood, landed on a lady. i shook her, told her we need to go, we need to get out of there. there was no respon

. >> reporter: four rows from the back of the crowded theater, tanner coon had a bird's-eye view of the was a firecracker. i eventually realized it was gunshots after another three or four shots. >> reporter: he told his friends, get down. one of them was a 12-year-old. >> he was freaking out. he was really distraught. >> reporter: it was when tanner and his friends crawled for the exit that he felt and saw what he can't get out of his head -- >> i slipped in some blood and landed on a lady, i shook her and told her we need to get out of here, get up, we got to go, there was no response. she did not move. she did not say anything. so, you know, i presumed she was dead. >> reporter: and this was truly strange, the horror of it was not confined. walls don't always stop bullets. batman was playing in the next room over too, where members of a football team were so excited for that movie, they broke curfew for the midnight show. one of them avoided death by, a millimeter. >> that is something that, you know, i try not to think about and just be prayerful i came out alive. >> reporter: 17-ye

. >> all right, will ripley of kusa, will, thank you very much. 17-year-old tanner coon was inside thes as the shooting began. tanner has been sharing his story with us throughout the morning. it is heart breaking and it is chaotic. tanner, first of all, how you are you doing? you know, we have spoken to you several times throughout the morning and i think in the very early hours it seems as if you were very calm and maybe perhaps in shock, and then the last time we spoke, it seemed as if this was starting to rattle you a little bit more. >> yeah, i mean, you know, when it was actually happening, it just felt like a dream. i felt like this isn't really happening, and, you know, as the evening -- as the day has progressed, it is just starting to piece itself and i'm starting to wrap my mind around it and starting to feel more real. >> are you starting to recall new images or different images from your time in that theater? >> not necessarily different, but definitely ones that i didn't recall earlier. >> and for example? >> for example, i did see a silhouette the first time he did -- i