Montano was armed with a pellet gun, a hatchet, and two backpacks, with one containing a fake bomb.
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Jim, a local veteran, said people shouldn’t be scared to legally carry their firearms into a theater because of the actions of one person.
Before the SWAT team arrived, police believe Montana filled air in the theater with pepper spray. Two other moviegoers, women aged 17 and 53, were treated for exposure to pepper spray.
Nashville Mayor Karl Dean also hailed police for their quick response.
Witnesses and police said that some patrons went running out of the theater, when Montana started his mayhem.
Authorities said Montano was arrested in Murfreesboro in 2004 for assault and resisting arrest. Steven also gave a brief statement thanking all of those who responded and helped out, as well as asking for the public to respect his family’s privacy.
Steven added that he had “no idea why this gentleman decided to attack us”.
Aaron said members of the Police Department’s bomb squad planned to detonate the contents of the backpack the man was wearing because they were “not comfortable with what they are seeing” inside the bag.
Aside from the suspect, no one was killed or brought to a medical facility.
The assailant tried to escape out of a rear door but was shot dead.
The air inside the theater was thick with the chemical irritant, according to Aaron. Nashville Fire Department spokesman Brian Haas later said the gunman also had pepper spray on him.
Metro police then returned fire, killing the suspect. She told The Associated Press by phone that a man who had two backpacks and fit the description of the attacker tried to enter a backdoor of the store about 11 a.m.
Montano has lived in a number of states, including Missouri, Texas, Alabama, Illinois and Florida, Nashville police said. He did not have further details.
The officers who fired their weapons are on routine administrative assignment pending completion of the preliminary investigation.
Police officers say Montano walked into Carmike Hickory 8 just after 1 p.m. Wednesday where seven people were watching “Mad Max: Fury Road”.
Officers confronted Montano inside the theater, firing shots at him before he fled out back where he ultimately died.
No other details were immediately available.
What initially seemed to be one other mass capturing at a film theatre is beginning to look extra just like the final determined act of a severely disturbed homeless man who might have had no intention of harming giant numbers of individuals – however maybe knew he himself could possibly be killed.
Authorities say police are responding to reports of shots fired at a movie theater southeast of Nashville, Tennessee.
Police gather outside a movie theater at the scene of a reported…
They dropped what they were doing and responded, police said.
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The attack in Nashville came less than two weeks after a 59-year-old drifter killed two people and injured nine when he unleashed a barrage of gunfire inside a movie theater in Lafayette, La.
