Celebrities Tweet Condolences For Mass Shooting In Aurora, Colo.

At least 12 people died early on Friday morning during a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” after a gunman opened fire inside a theater in Aurora, Colo. Another 50 people were said to be taken to nearby hospitals due to gunshot injuries, with a three-month-old victim the youngest to suffer a bullet wound. The gunman has been identified as James Holmes, and reports have said that he was carrying three weapons. He began firing inside the theater some 15 minutes after the start of the movie. The hashtags #theatershooting and #Aurorashooting circulated around Twitter as the name of the town, a suburb of Denver, became a worldwide trending topic. Poynter’s Storify of how the story broke and developed via Twitter, featuring tweets from people present during the event and journalist who began covering the event as early as 2 a.m., also made the rounds for its detailing of the event. Topsy.com calculated that mentions of “Aurora” reached 27,000 in the past hour alone.

Celebrities began to tweet condolences early on Friday. Here is a collection of some of the most shared and retweeted tweets.

in tears watching news footage of the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims & their families.

— Julie Benz (@juliebenz) July 20, 2012

So u telling me I can’t even feel safe at the movies now!!? SMH. My prayers goes out to all the families involved in Aurora, Colorado.

— LeBron James (@KingJames) July 20, 2012

#live chat re: #aurora #theatershooting on CNN.com/StartingPoint for updates from me, @JohnsBerman and the @startingptCNN team #aurora

— Soledad O’Brien (@Soledad_OBrien) July 20, 2012

My heart goes out to all the families and victims in Aurora, Colorado. This is insane!!

— Cheryl Burke (@CherylBurke) July 20, 2012

My love and prayers go out to all the people involved with Aurora Colorado

— John Wall (@John_Wall) July 20, 2012

I am very far away from my home state today. But my thoughts are with the victims of the Aurora,CO tragedy and their loved ones.

— Chris Fowler (@cbfowler) July 20, 2012

My thoughts and sincerest condolences go out to the family and friends of the victims in Aurora, Colorado. It’s such a senseless tragedy.

— Cesar Millan (@cesarmillan) July 20, 2012

I just found out about the shooting in Aurora…Devastated and sickened by it.The victims and their families are in my heart…

— Erin Sanders (@ErinZariah) July 20, 2012

My thoughts & prayers go out to the family members of the people that lost their lives at the Batman Movie screening in Aurora, Colorado

— Reggie Bush (@reggie_bush) July 20, 2012

My heart breaks for the victims, families and community of the Aurora shootings. My thoughts and prayers are with you all…

— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) July 20, 2012

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families in Aurora, Colorado.

— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) July 20, 2012

My prayers and condolences to the victims and their families in Aurora, Colorado affected by this terrible tragedy…

— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) July 20, 2012

Pray for Aurora.

— Bun B (@BunBTrillOG) July 20, 2012

SMH. Sick people. My love and prayers go out to all the people involved with Aurora Colorado.

— James Harden (@JHarden13) July 20, 2012

Cannot fathom nor comprehend what happened this morning in Aurora, Colorado. Prayers for all the victims and their families.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 20, 2012

My prayers to those in aurora, co. So tragic.

— DJ DRAMA (@DJDRAMA) July 20, 2012

Prayers to the people in Aurora, CO.How scary to wake up to that news today.

— Michael Buckley(@buckhollywood) July 20, 2012

My heart goes out to all the people affected in the Aurora, CO shooting. May God be with that town and their families…

— Eva Longoria (@EvaLongoria) July 20, 2012

praying for the people of Aurora, Colorado.

— Russell Simmons (@UncleRUSH) July 20, 2012

Oh no ! Just woke up and turned on the news “14 dead 50 hurt in Batman movie shooting”.Praying for victims. So sorry and sad.

— Billy Ray Cyrus (@billyraycyrus) July 20, 2012

In shock reading about what happened at the theater in Aurora, CO… Could have been any of us. My heart is heavy for everyone affected.

— Hayley from Paramore (@yelyahwilliams) July 20, 2012

My heart and prayers go out to all the victims and families in Aurora, Colorado this morning.

— Paula Deen (@Paula_Deen) July 20, 2012

My prayers to those in aurora, co

— Taco (@oddfuckingtaco) July 20, 2012

Thoughts and prayers go out to Aurora, Colorado. Such a tragedy.

— katevoegele (@katevoegele) July 20, 2012

My heart goes out to all the families of the victims in the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting. Fucking horrific. bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-…

— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) July 20, 2012