Tragedy at the Nashville Theater
Yet another theater shooting incident has occurred in Nashville, Tennessee, less than two weeks since the deadly rampage in Lafayette, Louisiana. Gunshots were fired around 1:15 p.m. yesterday at a Carmike Cinema in a Nashville suburb just before “Mad Max: Fury Road” was about to begin. Two local officers who were working a traffic stop nearby were able to respond immediately. The 29-year-old gunman, David Montano, was armed with a pellet gun, a hatchet and pepper spray. Police shot Montano upon arrival at the scene when they saw him aim what they believed to be a handgun at moviegoers. There were eight people total in the theater at the time. Two women suffered from pepper spray injuries and one gentleman suffered injury from the pepper spray as well as a slight shoulder injury where he was nicked by the hatchet.
The gunman had a history of mental illnesses as well as a former arrest for criminal assault. According to his mother, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2006 and she has not heard from him since 2013. Further, he had been committed for mental health-related reasons a total of four times in addition to having been reported as a missing person.
This scenario thankfully did not claim the lives of any of the victims, but the incident itself is far too similar to the recent Lafayette, Louisiana shooting as well as those in Aurora, Colorado and Tampa, Florida. It’s no wonder people are thinking twice before heading to a theater this summer. To read our coverage of the Lafayette, Louisiana shooting click here. For an attorney experienced in handling movie theater-related shooting cases, contact TJ Grimaldi today.
TJ Grimaldi joined McIntyre in 2011. McIntyre recruited TJ to create the divisions of personal injury and family law, as well as to expand the existing criminal defense practice at the firm. During TJ’s tenure at McIntyre, he has helped oversee and grow these practice areas. He continues to practice in these divisions while also expanding his own practice areas to include estate planning and immigration law. TJ is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Florida and the United States District Court for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida.