“The fear that was incited in moviegoers was very much influenced by what’s going on in the rest of the country”, Ms Manzella said, adding that the pranksters intended to fool people into believing they were carrying a weapon.
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Some Southern Californians got more of a thrill than they expected during their weekend movie, when a few men entered a movie theater and scared viewers inside with a leaf blower.
“You’re literally thinking (about) “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, like there’s insane people out there”, one injured movie-goer said. Callers told police that two or three men had entered their theater holding a loud, handheld machine, later identified as a leaf blower.
“You’re in a theatre, and you think you’re going to die”, Ms Aldama, who suffered a hairline fracture, said.
Authorities said at least one of the men was in the theater during the movie and opened an exit door so another could enter with the leaf blower.
The men then left the theater through the same emergency exit.
The suspect yelled, shook the leaf-blower, and revved its engine to create a loud and disturbing noise, witnesses told investigators.
Moviegoers began rushing for the exits.
Police said Monday that three people had minor injuries in the panicked rush to get out of the theater during the showing of “The Gift“.
“Everyone just started screaming – it was chaos”, said moviegoer Mara Rothbart.
“My leg was trampled by the a–s who went into fight-or-flight mode”.
“Several seconds later, all of the suspects exited the theater through the same emergency exit door”, Manzella said.
“The officers’ investigation revealed the incident involved two or three male suspects, White or Hispanic, in their late teens to early 30s”, the release said. Long Beach police believe the men came to the theater with the intention of scaring the moviegoers inside.
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Anyone with information is asked to contact Newport Beach police Det.
