A hatchet-wielding gunman who opened fire at a Tennessee movie theater was killed before seriously injuring any moviegoers, Metro Nashville police said Wednesday afternoon.
The suspect was identified by law enforcement officials as 29-year-old Vincente Montano, a man with a background of arrests and a history of commitments for mental health.
Montano carried a hatchet into the Carmike Hickory 9 theater showing “Magic Mike” in Antioch, Tennessee Wednesday afternoon. According to authorities, the suspect also had backpack strapped to him with an Airsoft-style gun that typically shoots plastic BBs.
Police took the active shooter call at 1:13 p.m. Central daylight time. Two officers responded first, as theyworking a traffic stop nearby when witnesses alerted them to the theater situation, according to Metro Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron.
Approximately 41 minutes later, the suspect was dead. Two people – two women, ages 53 and 17 – were hurt with pepper spray, while another victim, a 58-year-old man identified only as Steven, suffered a wound from the hatchet to his shoulder.
Afterwards, police discovered two suspicious backpacks, one of which was determined to have a hoax device carried by the suspect.
“The officer started at the projection room and started clearing down,” Aaron said. “He encountered the gunman. The gunman opened fire on the South Precinct officer. That officer returned his fire, and then backed away out of the theater.”
The SWAT team responded and confronted the suspect, Aaron said, before adding the gunman was shot dead inside the theater.
The shooting comes roughly two weeks after a theater shooting in Lafayette, La. left two dead and nine others wounded.
Family members of victims from the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting were also testifying against the gunman Wednesday in court.
“I applaud the Metro Police Department for its great work to apprehend the suspect, keep our citizens and visitors safe, and prevent a tragedy in Antioch today. … I recognize that this situation must have been traumatizing for everyone in the theater and many who were nearby, and I’m sorry that some were injured and needed treatment. I’m relieved that no one else was killed, and again, I thank the police for that,” Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
(h/t The Tennessean)
