Moviegoers unfazed by security changes as local theater searches bags
In an effort to provide better security measures following recent movie theater shootings in Tennesse and Louisiana, movie theater chain Regal Entertainment Group has begun checking patrons’ bags, including its Washington Crown Center location.
It is unclear when the policy was enacted, but the Associated Press reported customers noticed the change in Texas, Virginia, Florida and Ohio earlier this month.
A spokesperson for Regal did not return calls for comment. The Knoxville, Tenn., company operates 570 theaters around the country.
On its website, the company outlines the protocol, which they called flawed.
“Regal Entertainment Group wants our customers and staff to feel comfortable and safe when visiting and working in our theaters. To ensure the safety of our guests and employees, backpack and bags of any kind are subject to inspection prior to admission. We acknowledge that this procedure can cause some inconveniences, and that it is not without flaws, but hope these are minor in comparison to safety.”
Moviegoers at Regal’s local theater, Regal Crown Center Stadium 14 at Washington Crown Center, said they are unbothered by the change.
Judy Coyle of Washington said the process is quick. Attendants asks patrons to open their bags, and a quick sweep of the contents is done.
Coyle said the theater also has a guard walking in and out of individual shows.
“It makes you aware,” Coyle said of the precautions. “I guess I never really thought about it, but whatever it takes to be safe.”
Kellie Reska was also unfazed by the new rule. Her only concern was what would occur on a busy night.
“I don’t want to be late for my showing; so as long as they have enough people, it should be fine,” the Washington resident said.
Both Coyle and Reska entered the theater with purses. They said the new procedure did not affect their visits.
Signs on the box office and entrance doors altered patrons to the change.
Earlier this month, a man with a history of mental illness and armed with a pellet gun, hatchet and pepper spray attacked guests at a mostly empty movie theater in Antioch, Tenn., before being shot dead by police.
Two weeks before that, a man shot and killed two people and wounded nine others before fatally shooting himself during a screening of the movie “Trainwreck” at a theater in Lafayette, La.
The latest attacks came the same month that Colorado theater shooter James Holmes was sentenced to life in prison by a jury for killing 12 and injuring 70 theatergoers three years ago at a midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises.”