Yet Another Movie Theater Shooting

On Wednesday afternoon, an active shooter at a theater in Tennessee died after opening fire during a showing of Mad Max: Fury Road. So far, no injuries or casualties have been reported, other than the shooter, who apparently also had a hatchet, according to The Tennessean. The shooting occurred at the Carmike Hickory 8 theater in Antioch, right outside of Nashville. After receiving reports of an active situation at 1:13 p.m., the Metro Nashville police responded and, around 2 p.m., announced that the shooter was dead. Police spokesman Don Aaron told The Tennessean:

​The officer started at the projection room and started clearing down. 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.

This is the second theater shooting in a span of less than two weeks. On July 23, John Russell Houser opened fire during a showing of Trainwreck in Lafayette, Louisiana. Two women were killed and several people were injured before Houser then killed himself. And both of these shootings — first in Louisiana and now in Tennessee — have taken place in the context of James Holmes' death penalty trial. Just two days ago, jurors decided they would not rule out the death penalty in his case and would instead move ahead to phase three. The jury is expected to begin deliberations Friday.

According to the Associated Press, at least three people were treated for pepper spray exposure, and one person had suffered a possible hatchet wound. It is not yet clear where the pepper spray came from, but authorities are checking two backpacks that apparently belonged to the shooter.