It's been two and a half weeks since James Holmes opened fire at a midnight screening of
The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado. During that tragic incident twelve people lost their lives and another fifty-eight were wounded. Now, news is trickling in that last Saturday night there may have been another tragedy. This time in Westlake, Ohio 37-year-old Scott Smith of North Ridgeville was arrested and charged after it was discovered that he brought a bag of weapons to Regal Cinemas at Crocker Park.
A manager at the theater and an off-duty police officer became suspicious of Scott Smith. He arrived an hour early for a 10:00 p.m. screening of
The Dark Knight Rises with a large bag, and sat in the back row in the middle. Smith was asked to open his bag and luckily Jeremiah Bullins, an off-duty Westlake police officer discovered the weapons in a hidden compartment.
He noticed and searched Smith's bag, finding three knives inside, as well as a loaded 9 mm Glock handgun, two additional loaded magazines, and a fourth knife under his clothes. Each magazine had 17 rounds.
Westlake Police Detective Lt. Ray Arcuri believes Smith's choice of seating, last row in the middle, was a "tactical position."
“If he chose to do something there, all his potential victims were in front of him and he would have an advantage over them."
Smith was the first person in the theater, and it was expected to have at least 80 people attending that showing. The suspect has a wife and a 1-year-old child. When his home was searched police found a wide assortment of weapons, 5 handguns, plenty of ammo, gas masks, and bulletproof vests. Even his cellphone had hundreds of images of guns.
Smith does not have a criminal record, but was in the military for a short stint. He is on medication, taking pain pills. Smith has claimed that he brought the weapons for self defense.
The Dark Knight Rises is now playing at your local theater. The film stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon, Tom Hardy as Bane, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake and Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate.
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