A Stillwater Connection to the Colorado Movie Theater Shooting

There’s a Stillwater connection to the horrifying shooting during the midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

graduate Jessica Thron’s husband, Carey Rottman, was one of 59 people injured after being shot in the leg by a gunman who opened fire in a crowded theater early Friday morning.

The couple was married three weeks ago near Stillwater.

Rottman's friend, Pierce O'Farrill , the minister who married them, was shot in the arm and foot.

"When they both got shot, Carey jumped on top of the minister, laid on top of him trying to protect him too, because he knew his friend got shot worse,” Stillwater resident Steve Thron told KARE 11.

After he was shot, four teens picked Rottman up, brought him outside and laid him on the grass, Thron said. A teen reportedly used her belt to stop the bleeding.

That’s when he called his wife, Jessica.

Thron told KARE 11 that Carey begged Jessica to join them for the movie, but she had to work early.

"Carey was very happy,” Thron told KARE 11. “He begged her 20 times to go to the movie and she just kept turning him down, and this morning he said to her, he said, 'Thank God you weren't with me. I don't know what I would have done.'”

Stillwater resident Justin Magill went to Stillwater Area High School with Jessica, and was one of her roommates at Winona State University.

“We used to have a Stillwater house down in Winona,” Magill said. “We had a lot of good times and keep in touch as much as possible now that she lives in Colorado.”

Magill said he woke up at 5 a.m. and first heard of the tragedy on the radio. He then logged on to Facebook and one of the first posts he saw was by Jessica.

At 4:51 a.m. near Denver, CO Jessica's Facebook status update read:

"Thankful to God for sparing Carey and Pierce's lives tonight."

“I thought, holy crap she’s down there,” Magill said.

At 6:34 a.m. her status update read:

"Carey and Pierce were both shot at a movie theater last night. Some asshole decided to stand at the front of the theater and open fire. Carey is in surgery now at the Aurora Medical Center. Thankfully he should be ok. We are so fortunate."

Jessica was a 2004 graduate of Stillwater Area High School. She graduated from Winona State University in 2009 with a Business Administration - Human Resources degree.

The couple lists Denver as their current city of residence.

“I just can't believe it," Magill said. “With all the school shootings you sort of become numb to news like this. But this one is different. This one hits pretty close to home.

"It's bad enough people are getting shot in schools, and now people are getting shot in a movie theater," he continued. "It’s insane. It’s just getting ridiculous."

Rottman had surgery today, and in a Facebook post tonight he wrote that he's getting ready to start recovery.

"Thank you sooooo much everyone for the amazing prayers and kind wishes," Rottman's Facebook status reads. "I am definitely feeling nothing but love and am ready to get started on this recovery! By the way, first 30 minutes of the dark knight were SICK!!"