AURORA, COLORADO (BNO NEWS) -- A young mother who was seriously injured and lost her six-year-old daughter in the shooting massacre at a Denver-area movie theater earlier this month has suffered a miscarriage, the family said on late Saturday, making the unborn baby the shooting's thirteenth victim.
Ashley Moser, 25, was hit once in the stomach and twice in the neck when a gunman walked into an auditorium at the Century 16 Movie Theater in Aurora and opened fire, killing twelve people and injuring 58 others in what was one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history. It happened during the midnight premiere of 'The Dark Knight Rises', the third installment in the Batman film series by movie director Christopher Nolan.
In an e-mailed statement, the family's spokesperson said Moser underwent additional surgery on Saturday morning. "Tragically, the extreme trauma she sustained also caused a miscarriage," the statement said. "Our sincere appreciation goes out to all of those who have been sending well-wishes, prayers and good thoughts to Ashley. Her lifetime of care will be a long road."
Because Colorado state homicide laws only apply to persons who are "born and alive" at the moment of a crime, the miscarriage is unlikely to affect charges expected to be filed on Monday against James Eagen Holmes, who was arrested at the scene of the July 20 shooting.
Moser is the mother of six-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan who was also killed in the shooting.
"We want to send a special thank you to the courageous heroes of law enforcement, other first responders, paramedics, and doctors and nurses who have all gone beyond the call-of-duty in caring for our daughter, granddaughter and all of the other victims of this tragic event," Saturday's statement added.
Funeral arrangements for Veronica are still pending.
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