JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 29-year-old man was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police officers in a movie theater in a Nashville suburb Wednesday, during the second movie theater attack in less than two weeks.
Moviegoers had gone to see "Mad Max: Fury Road" when the attack began with a showering of pepper spray.
The man who police said carried out the attack was identified Vincente Montano and according to officials, he had been committed for mental health issues at least four times.
Police said Montano was carrying an Airsoft gun that looked like a real handgun, and was carrying two backpacks and a hatchet and wore a surgical mask when he pepper-sprayed the audience.
There were eight people in the theater at the time, including Montano, and three people had to be treated for the spray. One person was also treated for an injury believed to have been caused by the hatchet.
The shooting also comes just after a new survey was released, in which Americans still feel movie theaters are among the safest public places, even in light of last month's theater shooting in Louisiana.
But these recent incidents do have people worried and talking about extra security measures.
"There are some movies that I'm just so excited to see that I'm willing to take the risk, but it does make me a little nervous as far as bringing children with me or anything like that, younger viewers," Michael Boler, who just saw "Mission Impossible," said.
But some people, like Dennis Greene, who was headed to see "Ant Man," worries that some people may start to overact when it comes to security.
"I don't think it's good to become hysterical over a few people that are on the fringes of society. I think something like that's very rare," Greene said.
But, like Greene and Boler, after the shooting in Antioch, Tennessee, people's opinions regarding fear and security in movie theaters is divided.
"It's kind of turned me off, the whole movie theater thing. I'll just wait till it goes on DVD," moviegoer Courtney Bryant said.
According to a new survey conducted by research group C4, 75 percent of moviegoers feel very safe in a theater, yet nearly 1/3 of moviegoers believe bags and purses should be checked for weapons before people can head into a movie. A slightly larger number of people also think that there should be metal detectors and armed security at theaters.
"I don't believe in looking in bags or patting people down, but I think it's worth it to spend the money on metal detectors," moviegoer Angela Washington said.
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said the study does highlight one thing pretty clearly though, and that's that it's time for theaters to step up security.
"Whenever you have to add more person now or have some type of security measures there may be a slight increase in cost, but I think it would be worth it to know that you could sit there and enjoy the movie and be more relaxed knowing that some type of safety measures were taken," Smith said.
But until theaters step up security, Smith said moviegoers do need to take note of a few things.
"When you go to a movie theater, the first thing to do is look for exits. That way you can have an idea where the exits are in case you're disoriented, so you know which direction to go to. Also look for people who appear to be suspicious or not behaving properly. If you see someone out of the normal contact the manager and don't be afraid to let them know," Smith said.
Smith also said that it isn't a bad idea to see movies earlier in the day when the theater is less crowded. And keep your cellphone turned to vibrate instead of turning it off so you can quickly call police if something does happen.
Smith also said that in the event of a shooting, if you can't get to safety, keep your distance. Even duck behind chairs because they're looking for targets and they're looking for people to shoot.