# My local theater caught a guy with weapons **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 7, 2012, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724 "2012-08-07T12:31:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/1 "2012-08-07T12:31:06Z")
The news this morning was a bit startling in a sort of, “Oh, by the way, guess what happened at the movies this weekend!” way. They announced that a 37-year-old man was arrested without incident after they searched his backpack and found [guns and knives](http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/255119/45/Westlake-Man-arrested-in-movie-theater-with-loaded-gun-and-knives) as he sat waiting for “Dark Knight Rises” to begin. Now this is my local theater, where I used to sit in the lobby for hours assembling displays. And where **Lillith Fair** dragged me to multiple showings of “Pride and Prejudice” And where I had my first real date after my divorce (“Die Hard:With a Vengeance” if you must know). So, a bit unnerving. But this prompts a question that came to mind after the Aurora shooting: Every theater I worked in doing assembly work had one or more off-duty cops in the lobby. Every one. They had a lot of fun watching this overweight arthritc middle-aged woman crawl around on the floor assembling things, let me tell you! From the fancy-pants theater referenced above in a quiet, affluent suburb to the gritty run-down theaters in the lower-income areas of Cleveland, they all had cops in the lobby, especially on weekend nights and especially when a new hot movie premiered and the crowds were big. But I didn’t hear any mention of off-duty cops being at the Aurora theater. Did they not have any? Did I just miss the mention? ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/2 "2012-08-07T12:49:10Z")
NM. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/3 "2012-08-07T12:50:42Z")
What are the odds he claims he had them just in case someone _else_ came in with guns and knives? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/4 "2012-08-07T13:26:40Z")
Whoa. (And, talk about oblivious – when I saw _Dark Knight Rises_ Sunday, at the IMAX theater at the Franklin Institute [Philly’s science museum], there were two guys taking tickets, one of whom wanted to look in my purse. I thought “Huh, that’s odd” but actually gave it no additional thought. First time I’ve seen a mass release movie at the Franklin Institute, though, I’d’ve probably thought more about it if it had happened at a regular theater.) ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/5 "2012-08-07T18:37:29Z")
I’ve never seen any kind of security at any theater I’ve been to. Biggest city with a theater I’ve been to is probably Portland, Oregon, though. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/6 "2012-08-07T18:57:11Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > What are the odds he claims he had them just in case someone _else_ came in with guns and knives? That was my first thought, but would you really need 3 magazine for that. It seems like if you couldn’t take the person out after the first 15 rounds, and you were still alive, you’d be better off taking cover. I’m guessing it’s going to turn out that the guy is just a gun freak with no actual intention of hurting anyone and probably carries that satchel of guns/knives (or some variation of it) everywhere he goes. Other articles mentioned a tactical vest in his truck and a gun room at his house. He’s probably someone more along the lines of a prepper then a 'lets go randomly shoot up a theater"…but I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/7 "2012-08-07T19:22:55Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I’m guessing it’s going to turn out that the guy is just a gun freak with no actual intention of hurting anyone and probably carries that satchel of guns/knives (or some variation of it) everywhere he goes. So he’s like [this guy](http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/stills-from-the-movie-falling-down-20001213/falling-down-24237720)? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/8 "2012-08-07T19:28:13Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > So he’s like [this guy](http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/stills-from-the-movie-falling-down-20001213/falling-down-24237720)? I saw that on VHS probably 15 years ago. I remember something about him accidentally unloading it on the ceiling and other then that I know I always get it mixed up with The Game. Help me out. Looking at IMDB, no, it doesn’t seem like they have anything at all to do with each other. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/9 "2012-08-07T19:30:36Z")
Do they even think that preemptively checking for weapons is making us safer? Everyone knows it’s just security theater. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/10 "2012-08-07T19:32:34Z")
Who on earth takes a backpack to the movies, anyway? That’s weird. Don’t they have rules against bringing in outside food, anyway? You take a backpack to school or while hiking/biking, and that’s pretty much it. Not that we should expect people to be carrying large amounts of weaponry in a backpack, but still. I remember stores in my hometown that wouldn’t allow backpacks in the store at all–you had to leave it with a cashier up front, or you would be told to leave. Sounds harsh maybe, but that’s a rational policy in a retail store where lots of kids shop. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/11 "2012-08-07T19:33:58Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Do they even think that preemptively checking for weapons is making us safer? Everyone knows it’s just security theater. Considering the (first) Batman guy came in through an exit directly into the theater itself…no. It wouldn’t have done anything at all. Ignoring that circumstance, someone that wanted to shoot’em up would have just done it right there in the lobby and anti-gun control people (which I’m not going to mention my politics on one way or the other) will claim that it only guarantees that no one has any chance of fighting back. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/12 "2012-08-07T19:35:08Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I saw that on VHS probably 15 years ago. I remember something about him accidentally unloading it on the ceiling and other then that I know I always get it mixed up with The Game. > > Help me out. > > Looking at IMDB, no, it doesn’t seem like they have anything at all to do with each other. I was just riffing off your ‘satchel full of guns’, the duffel bag on the counter behind him is full of guns that he stole from some gang members. BTW, the movie is _Falling Down_. ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/13 "2012-08-07T19:37:16Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I saw that on VHS probably 15 years ago. I remember something about him accidentally unloading it on the ceiling and other then that I know I always get it mixed up with The Game. > > Help me out. > > Looking at IMDB, no, it doesn’t seem like they have anything at all to do with each other. One of his frustrations is when he wants to order a breakfast item a few minutes after 10:30 and the fast food restaurant he’s at won’t do it. He makes a scene, fires a machine gun into the ceiling, they give him his pancakes, he eats them. Great movie, every time I see a gas station charging $.85 for a coke I can’t help but laugh a little. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/14 "2012-08-07T19:50:12Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Do they even think that preemptively checking for weapons is making us safer? Everyone knows it’s just security theater. Theater security theater, even. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/15 "2012-08-07T19:58:07Z")
> [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](#): > > One of his frustrations is when he wants to order a breakfast item a few minutes after 10:30 and the fast food restaurant he’s at won’t do it. He makes a scene, fires a machine gun into the ceiling, they give him his pancakes, he eats them. Not to be pedantic, but… He changes his mind and wants a burger anyway, but is unsatisfied with it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/16 "2012-08-07T21:50:41Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Considering the (first) Batman guy came in through an exit directly into the theater itself…no. It wouldn’t have done anything at all. > > Ignoring that circumstance, someone that wanted to shoot’em up would have just done it right there in the lobby and anti-gun control people (which I’m not going to mention my politics on one way or the other) will claim that it only guarantees that no one has any chance of fighting back. I think you’ve been whooshed. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/17 "2012-08-07T21:54:38Z")
So people bringing guns into showings of _Dark Knight Rises_. Has anyone considered the possibility this is a really ill-advised marketing campaign for _The Avengers_? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/18 "2012-08-07T23:13:10Z")
I heard on the news that his lawyer said he brought the weapons to the movies for personal protection. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/19 "2012-08-07T23:46:00Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I heard on the news that his lawyer said he brought the weapons to the movies for personal protection. :rolleyes: You roll your eyes. But what would you do if you were watching a movie and suddenly a platoon of Redcoats tried to quarter itself in the theatre? Now who wishes they were carrying sixty rounds of ammunition? ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724/20 "2012-08-08T00:35:41Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I heard on the news that his lawyer said he brought the weapons to the movies for personal protection. :rolleyes: That’s only because, as his attorney, he can’t say “Smith brought them because he’s a fu\*\*ing idiot.” Apparently, Mr Scardy Pants didn’t have permits to be lugging around his personal arsonal, so now he’ll be getting to meet lots of new friends who carry guns. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-local-theater-caught-a-guy-with-weapons/630724.md?page=2)