AMC Banning Moviegoers In Costume As Security Beefs Up Nationwide
AMC Theatres said it is reinforcing its security procedures in the wake of today’s shooting in Colorado during a midnight screening of Warner Bros‘ The Dark Knight Rises. The company will not allow any guests into theaters “in costumes that make other guests feel uncomfortable and we will not permit face-covering masks or fake weapons inside our buildings”. Said the chain: “We’re reinforcing our security procedures with our theatre teams, which we cannot discuss in detail for obvious, safety reasons. Local law enforcement agencies, our landlords and their and our local security teams are stepping up nationwide to ensure we provide the safest environment possible for our guests. We couldn’t be more grateful for their collective support”. AMC said it is not amending any of the circuit’s screening schedules for The Dark Knight Rises but it will exchange or refund tickets for the movie.
Related: NATO Says Safety Is “A Priority For Theater Owners”
Expect to see a lot of blue shirts out tonight at theaters showing The Dark Knight Rises. Police and theater chains nationwide are tightening security in the aftermath of the shooting. “We will be beefing up patrols units in areas around movie theaters and we will have undercover officers out there too,” an LAPD spokesperson told Deadline today. Officers in the Hollywood Division of the LAPD will be checking theaters’ perimeters and emergency exits as well as being stationed in the front of some cinemas. The Colorado gunman came in through an emergency exit at the theater in Aurora. “We intend to be a visible presence,” one officer said to Deadline.
NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly earlier told NBCNewYork.com that the NYPD will provide coverage at theaters where The Dark Knight Rises is playing in the five boroughs “as a precaution against copycats and to raise the comfort levels among movie patrons in the wake of the horrendous shooting in Colorado”. Nassau County police said they would have “intensive” additional patrols around movie theaters showing Dark Knight Rises, according to NBCNewYork.com. Emergency service units, K-9 teams and special operations units will join the patrols. The daytime manager at United Artists/Regal Cinema in Brooklyn told NBC 4 New York that the NYPD has been in contact with her and planned patrols in the area.
Related: Theater Stocks Hammered After Colorado Shooting
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Officer Araz Alali told Deadline, “We will ensure that our officers are paying close attention to the theaters throughout the weekend”. Alali would not discuss tactical procedures or specific security plans. At the Regal Gallery Place multiplex in downtown Washington, employees searched patrons’ bags and purses while taking tickets at an 11 AM showing of Dark Knight Rises. Moviegoers seemed unfazed. ”I’m believing that it’s not related so much to the movie,” Steve Glaude, a 57-year-old federal employee, told The Associated Press. “The movie may have been a trigger. It may not have been. We don’t know. I don’t think it was hero or villain emulation.”
The Chicago Police Department said in a statement to Deadline that it “extends its sincere condolences and prayers to the victims and families of the tragic incident in Colorado. We are in contact with our law enforcement partners investigating this incident. We will remain vigilant in our enforcement efforts and give special attention to movie theaters throughout the City”.
Related: UK Theaters To Ramp Up Security After Colorado Shootings; France Is Status Quo
One manager at the Regal Kendall Village Stadium 16 and RPX in Miami told NBCMiami.com that the theater would have police officers patrolling the lobby starting at 7 PM for additional security. The manager, who did not give her name, did not comment further and referred comment to Regal Entertainment.
Related: What The Theater Chains Are Saying
While they would not provide any “operational details” about increased security, Houston Police say they are working with theater owners in the area. Some employees at a Houston movie theater said security is normally beefed up for big premieres because of the larger crowds expected, according to click2houston.com. They said there is a police and security presence 24 hours a day.
Executives of St. Louis-based Wehrenberg Theatres had discussions before dawn with managers of its 15 cinemas in Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota and Iowa, spokeswoman Kelly Hoskins told The Asssociated Press. She said the company feels comfortable with security already in place and plans no changes. She told the AP she hopes other theater chains don’t panic and cancel showings.
(Photos: Getty Images)
Managing Editor Denise Petski contributed to this report.
Yes, this MUST be done. Please pray for the victims, including my cousin Greg’s baby daughter … 23 year old Micayla. She is still unaccounted for. We need prayers. Please pray, please. Thank you.
My prayers are with your family for comfort from this senseless tragedy
Prayers sent.
WTH!!!!!
“This must Done”!!!! ????
Banning Costumes Como on!!! U might as well start Banning PhD students……
Simply ridiculousness…..
Have been and will continue praying for the Victims families and friends.
This is nonsense.
Nothing they are banning would have prevented this tragedy in any way, shape, or form.
The nutjob bought a ticket like everyone else, while not wearing any kind of costume, just regular clothes, sat in his seat, waited for the movie to start, went out the emergency exit door, propping it open so he could return, and then outside behind the theater, probably in his car, he changed into his crazy person assassin costume, and re-entered in through the emergency door.
Even if they solve the security problem of propped open emergency exit doors, any crazy nutjob armed to the teeth can still walk into any public entrance and start spraying bullets into crowds.
You can’t ban crazy.
I couldn’t believe all the photos I saw taken at comic-con of costumed people with “weapons”. Well before what happened at the movie in CO I thought to myself, “Wow, this must be the only place left in the U.S. where people can walk around freely caring weapon replicas you can’t even have a toy gun in a a school play or at Halloween almost anywhere in America.
I thought exactly the same thing when I saw those photos from Comic-Con as well. I could not believe the number of people walking around with replica weapons, it gave me the screaming heebie jeebies.
Friend who works at Mall of America told me that as a precaution security today has tripled since last Friday. Not sure if it’s just for this opening weekend or will be a permanent setting.
At my AMC lat night they allowed someone walk around with a Scarecrow mask on. Now that is over the top even before the shooting.
Right, look for com-con to forbid the caring of even fake weapons beginning at next year’s convention.
Comic-con does a thorough inspection on all cosplayer ‘weapons’ which are then taged as inspected.
Yes, absolutely. Let’s ban all the fake weapons but allow real ones everywhere by statute.
Post of the year.
You, sir, know how to make a point.
I don’t think costumes have ever been the problem. We are never going to be able to legislate or create enough rules to keep us safe from all bad behavior at all times.
We could change the code on the strength requirements of theater exit doors, but that wouldn’t necessarily prevent someone with a battering ram or a car from breaking in the back of a theater, etc., etc., etc.
I have not done the research, but I suspect a similar event of similar magnitude has not happened prior to this, or at least not in the past 50 years. I think we should be able to rest assuming the chances of it happening again are quite slim.
Yes, theaters should review their emergency procedures and communications with the police and their employees, but short of encasing everything in impenetrable cladding and running everyone through metal detectors at every intersection, we are not going to completely eliminate many of the risks we face in life. Knee jerk reactions to tragedy does not tend to make us any safer.
“Knee jerk reactions to tragedy does not tend to make us any safer.”
Exactly
While my heart goes out to the victims and the families of this horrible tragedy– it seems a bit kneejerk to ban costumes…particularly since I was just at Comic Con, where at least 30,000 of those in attendance were in costume and there were no violent incidents.
This is a dumb decision. DUMB
Costumes we can ban. But guns? That’d be crazy.
No kidding.
Knee-jerk reaction. Just like after 9-11, they institute policies that cover scenarios that most likely will never happen again. The net result is we lose more of our freedoms and innocence. Truly, the bad guys have won.
Exactly. This is very unlikely to be repeated so banning this and that (costumes of all things) just gives people the ILLUSION that they are safe while some of their liberties are taken away and the next time a nutcase decides to have a shootout in a public place they will just circumvent the measures in place!