FOREST, OHIO -- An Ohio teen who survived the deadly shooting spree at a Colorado movie theater, last Friday, spoke out during a press conference on Monday.
Gage Hankins, surrounded by his family, told the press he initially thought the attack was part of the movie's special effects.
He and 11 others, attending a "Friends" stuttering convention, were watching a midnight showing of the new Batman movie in the theater adjacent to where the shooting took place.
Hankins says he and his friends first heard a hissing noise, saw smoke, heard a loud bang and then a lot of popping noises.
Soon after, Gage Hankins felt "a pressure" on his arm and noticed he had been injured.
"I looked down and I saw a hole and blood," Hankins said.
Hankins recalled that a friend quickly got him out of the theater.
"It wasn’t until we got out into the lobby is when it finally hit me this is bad," Hankins added.
Gage's brother, Jackson, was also in the theater but was not injured.
After been evacuated into the parking lot, Gage realized he was not the only one injured and encouraged first responders to care for those that he believed had more serious injuries.
"There were people there that got shot in the face," Hankins recalled.
Despite the life-altering experience Hankins says he plans to attend movies in the future and wants people to pray for his alleged shooter.
"I just want people to pray for him so he we can help him see what he did was wrong," Hankins said.
On Monday, James Holmes appeared in court for the first time on the charges related to the theater shooting.
An arraignment in the case against him has been set for Monday.
Holmes is believed to have killed a total of 12 people and wounding more than 50 in the Aurora shooting.
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