Police in the Cleveland suburb of Westlake, Ohio have arrested a man who allegedly tried to smuggle loaded 9-millimeter guns, ammunition and knives, but a watchful manager saw him carrying a bag into the theater and notified an off-duty police officer.
This appeared to be an alleged copycat gunman whose actions were eerily similar to James Holmes who killed at least 12 people and injured more than 50 during The Dark Knight Rises screening in July in suburban Denver.
Authorities say the manager of the Cleveland-area movie theater became suspicious of the man, who allegedly tried to bring a satchel into a 10pm Saturday showing of the Batman movie.
The officer, who was working security that evening found a Glock 9mm handgun, ammunition clips, and three knives and immediately alerted police. He also had another knife hidden on his person.
This time, the man identified by police as Scott Smith, 37, did not have a permit to carry any concealed weapon, much less multiple weapons. The man was arrested without incident — and Smith even offered to put the guns back into his car.
Cops later performed a search of Smith’s home. It’s unclear if investigators discovered anything during the search.
Stay tuned for further updates.
— terry shropshire
