Nearly one year after the Aurora shooting, the parents of one of the 12 who were killed during the midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" say they're challenging the media to stop using the shooter's name and image.
They're calling it "The Alex Teves Challenge," and the goal is to start the end of the glorification of mass murderers.
"The whole premise of the challenge was to take the notoriety away from people who commit acts of violence, to not give them an outlet that maybe they seek," Alex's mother, Caren Teves told 9News.
"You guys needs to be responsible for what you do," said Tom Teves. "You guys could change overnight. All you have to do is have the courage to stop."
The Alex Teves Challenge Facebook page also joined in with the call to boycott Rolling Stone's controversial cover featuring the Boston bombing suspect, and even called on the media to stop airing a photo of the cover in its reports.
The challenge itself comes with six major points asking the media to write about mass tragedies more responsibly:
- By witholding the name and images of the suspect
- Acknowledging "that the prospect of infamy" could inspire others to commit similar crimes
- Focusing coverage on "specific details of the act, alleged assailant’s background, and possible motivations" rather than the assailant's image or name, which the Teves argue is irrelevant
- Raising awareness of the cause of the act as a preventative measure
- To only publish the assailant's name and image if they are still at large, and to stop upon his or her capture
- And to "agree to promote data and analysis from experts in mental health, public safety, and other relevant professions, where this will support further steps in the elimination of this type of criminal behavior."
Alex Teves was the Teves' oldest son, and he reportedly loved the superhero genre highlighting good vs. evil.
"If you want to describe Alex in one word, he was just good," his father, Tom Teves told CNN.
And he also liked a good Colorado craft beer, his parents say.
On Saturday night, the one-year anniversary of the shooting, the Copper Kettle Brewery -- along with 11 other area breweries, 4 food trucks and 2 bands -- will host "A Night To Remember" for $40, with all proceeds benefiting the Alexander C. Teves (ACT) Foundation and Phoenix 999, a group created by survivors of the Columbine shooting in the wake of the Aurora shooting. Teves was Brew Club member No. 28 of the Copper Kettle's 50-person mug club, and an image of him raising that mug hangs permanently in the Copper Kettle.