Two people in North Carolina were arrested for allegedly firing a gun in a movie theater during a screening of “Black Panther” during a dispute over assigned seats last week, according to local news reports.
Per the Greenville Police Department’s Facebook post, Shameka Latrice Lynch turned herself into the Pitt County Detention Center on Saturday, where she was charged with one count of Discharging a Firearm in an Enclosure to Incite Fear and two counts of Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill. There were no injuries and she is being held on $250,000 bond.
On Monday, the Greenville Police Department arrested a second individual in connection with the shooting. Chadwick Earl Cherry was charged with Discharging a Firearm in an Enclosure to Incite Fear, two counts of Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill, and Possession of a Firearm by Felon. Police said Cherry is believed to have fired the gun. He was booked into the Pitt County Detention Center yesterday evening.
Police arrived to the AMC Fire Tower 12 theater where witnesses reported an altercation between several people over assigned seating. At one point, shots were fired and the movie theater was evacuated.
The police document identified the victims as Deandre Cox and Randy Jones. Both the authorities and a spokesperson for AMC Theatres could not confirm whether the shooting actually took place during a “Black Panther” screening.
“Black Panther” stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman, and since its release earlier this month has grossed a whopping $403 million domestically, breaking several records in the process.
It was directed by Ryan Coogler and holds a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 97 percent as well as a CinemaScore of A+.