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By Polly Mosendz
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On Wednesday, Vincente David Montano entered a showing of Mad Max: Fury Road at a movie theater in Antioch, Tennessee, armed with a fake gun, ax and pepper spray. He was killed by authorities, and three people sustained minor injuries in the incident.
Just over a week prior, John Russell Houser opened fire at a showing of Trainwreck in Lafayette, Louisiana. Houser killed two people before turning the gun on himself.
Both crimes seemed to be copycats of the July 2012 Aurora, Colorado, shooting, in which James Holmes opened fire during a showing of The Dark Knight Rises. Holmes was found guilty of 165 charges in late July.
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With a rise in movie theater shootings—Holmes's dark legacy—audiences will likely see changes in theater policies, like no more backpacks and the installation of metal detectors. Montano carried two backpacks into the theater, one of which was equipped with a hoax explosive.
A study of moviegoers, conducted by the research firm C4 for Variety after the Lafayette shooting, found 34 percent of audiences want theater lobbies to have both a metal detector and an armed guard. Almost a third think moviegoers should have their bags searched before showings, and 14 percent think an armed guard should appear in every theater—not just the lobby.
Safety isn't important enough for a surcharge, though. The survey found 13 percent of moviegoers would pay $3 extra for a guard and metal detector.
Earlier this week, actress Amy Schumer, who stars in Trainwreck, met with her cousin, New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, to discuss more gun-control laws. However, gun regulations are notoriously difficult to change. Just before the Lafayette shooting, President Obama described the current state of gun safety laws as one of the most frustrating parts of his two terms.
In the meantime, metal detectors and armed guards might become a norm in theaters.
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