Days after the country’s second major theater shooting in recent history, some rattled observers shunned future movie outings, while others vowed not to be kept away by fear.

“You can’t live your life like it’s always going to happen,” said Aaron Dicks, 31, who was at an AMC theater in Roseville, Minnesota, to see “Pixels.” ”I’m not changing my routine because of a couple of crazy people.”

Most moviegoers interviewed late last week were aware of the latest shooting, in which a gunman opened fire on a theater audience in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Thursday. Police said that John Houser killed two people and wounded nine others before killing himself during a showing of “Trainwreck.”

The shooting evoked memories of the 2012 shooting at a theater in Aurora, Colorado, in which 12 people were killed and scores of others wounded.

In response, several victims or family members of victims have filed a federal lawsuit against Cinemark Holdings Inc. alleging that the company should have stepped up security for the premier showing of the Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises.”

“If you think about a theater, you’re sitting in a box with a bunch of people we don’t know, in the dark,” said Christina Habas, an attorney representing victims and their families.

At least one industry expert said he didn’t expect the shooting to provoke a wide chilling effect among audiences.

“This was clearly an isolated incident. It was a random act of violence,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office tracker Rentrak.

— The Associated Press

Copy the Story Link

Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.