Aurora theater 'Dark Knight Rises' shooting: Former PBSO deputy now working in Colorado

GREENACRES, Fla. - A Greenacres mother shared the shock of a nation's conscience after she learned about the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado.

Her son, a former Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputy, moved to Aurora last year to get away from the crime and violence of South Florida, Regine Reimann said.

"When I got up this morning, there were the headlines, the news, that something had happened in Aurora," she said. "My first thought was, 'Oh my God, my son just moved there to get away from all of the violence in Southeast Florida.' "

Her son, Dennis Dempsey, joined Aurora's police department after spending 15 years working as a deputy at the sheriff's office.

Aurora sits at the edge of Denver -- and in tragedy -- is now a part of a nation's dialogue.

It is Colorado's third-largest city.

Three times as many people live in Aurora compared to West Palm Beach; but its overall crime rate is lower.

"It was his day off yesterday so he didn't get caught up in all of that and his words, too, was 'You have it all over. Tragedy. Violence. It's happening all over, ' " Reimann said.

Reimann said she hadn't worried about Dempsey's line of work since he moved to Colorado.

"He knew I was really emotional about it all," she said. "You still have to live your life. You can't stay hidden away."