Written by Jeff Legwold at ESPN.com
Former Colorado fullback Jordan Murphy’s desire to claw his way into the NFL might not make a lot of sense. He wasn’t really a starter in the Buffaloes’ offense. He was never all-conference. And he was not on any “players to watch” lists.
But Murphy still chases his NFL dream with every fiber of his football being, in large part, because of what happened on July 20, 2012.
That’s the night James Holmes, dressed in tactical gear, burst into a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” in an Aurora, Colorado, theater, tossed tear-gas grenades and opened fire. By the time Holmes stopped shooting and walked back outside, 12 people were dead, 70 more were injured.
Murphy was with three friends that night in the theater, having taken the last group of seats they could find together.
“[Holmes] comes in to the right, my front right — we were in the fourth row. I can see his weapons. I can see him pretty clearly,” Murphy said. “He’s dressed up like Bane, you know, the character in the movie, so you’re thinking, ‘Oh, it’s opening night, this is some cool stunt to get people going.’ But then he launches the tear gas and right then I knew it was real. …
“We ducked down, we waited a few seconds. I heard his gun click that he was out of ammunition, so we crawled as fast as we could and then stood up at the end of the row to run. I think I attracted his attention because he turned his head to me, took a shot. Don’t know if it was a shotgun or his AR-15, but the bullet hit right over my head, drywall exploded, sprayed on my face, the dust went in my eyes. At that point I’m thinking I’m not getting out, but I’m running along the way, we were getting ready to turn the corner and the bullet just smashed the drywall. They always said the reason I couldn’t play Division I as a linebacker was because I wasn’t 6-2. I’m 6 feet. If I was 6-2, I’d probably be dead because that bullet is in my head.”
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