By Amelia Brown ’18

A man accidentally shot himself in the leg on Friday, Sept. 8 during a screening of the horror movie “It” at Bow Tie Cinemas in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Police responded to a call from the theatre at approximately 11 p.m. according to the Norwalk Police Department’s (NPD) activity log.

“At first when we heard the gunshot, we thought it was part of the movie,” Sydney Carson ’18, who was a few seats down from the man, said. After realizing the sound was not one of the onscreen balloons popping, panic ensued.  “[We] weren’t sure at this point if he shot himself or if there was a shooter in the theatre,” she said.

Preliminary police investigations have ruled it an accidental self-shooting. The man was taken to Norwalk Hospital with non-fatal injuries, Terrence Blake of the NPD told local Norwalk newspaper, The Hour. While an, “accidental and isolated incident,” according to Jared Milgram, Vice President, Marketing and Food & Beverage for Bow Tie Cinemas, he said how, “Bow Tie Cinemas does not tolerate weapons, concealed or open, to be brought into theaters.”

No one else was seriously hurt according to COO of Bow Tie Cinemas James Masher, as reported by News 12.

However, there was an “animalistic and selfish” race to get out the doors, Antonio Antonelli ’19, who was also sitting seats away from the incident, said. This scramble led to minor injuries as people pushed and shoved through the exits.

“People got pushed down. I got punched. It was scary,” Antonelli said. “Luckily though that was the scariest part and it was an accident. Everyone is OK.”

The NPD has not released any further information on the investigation as of Saturday afternoon.

Photo used under the Creative Commons License