Aurora, CO (WTVG) --
A man who was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, now lives Aurora, Colorado -- a few miles from the movie theater where Friday's massacre took place. It's the kind of tragedy that sends shockwaves across the country, but when you live in the same town, it's even worse.
"It's just so close to home, it's just very, very scary," said Aurora resident Gary Cook told 13abc over the phone. "The first thing I did was, I went and checked on my son. He was still asleep, and I just made sure everything was fine there."
Cook moved from northwest Ohio to the Denver suburb 20 years ago. He now lives about six miles from the mall and movie theater where one of the largest mass shootings in U.S. history took place.
"I woke up about 5 o'clock this morning," Cook explained Friday. "My sister had left me a voice mail. She was obviously upset, wanted to make sure that we were o.k. Then, when I turned on the news I just got this really sick feeling in my stomach and it just reminded me too much of Columbine. That just really hit home to me that, 'Oh, God. This is happening again.'"
Cook drives a truck for a living, and described the movie theater as a massive crime scene.
"The area that's part of my route as a truck driver, I drive past that area. And I just drove past it. And there's incredible police activity. Streets are closed, you can't access them."
Now, Cook and his neighbors are trying to process the grim reality of what seems unreal.
"As I got to work, I knew this was going to be a very difficult day. It's just a very somber, quiet mood right now."
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