Movie Theater Shooting in Nashville; Suspect Killed by Police

A man with a history of mental health issues who wielded an ax and a pellet gun at a Nashville-area movie theater was shot dead by police on Wednesday, authorities said.

Police say 29-year-old Vincent David Montano was carrying a hatchet and a pellet gun when he unleashed pepper spray on the audience in Antioch.

Metro Nashville police say Montano entered the cinema wearing a surgical mask, toting a pellet gun and a hatchet.

The showdown ended when Montano, who had a previous arrest record and history of mental issues, was killed by SWAT team members as he apparently tried to escape.

Though he seemed quiet, neighbors also remember him because of the police cars they saw at his house.

Montano was charged with assault on a Murfreesboro police officer and resisting arrest in September of 2004.

He described it as “utter chaos”.

The July 23 theater shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana, and the trial of Aurora, Colorado, theater shooter James Holmes are still fresh on the public mind.

One of many individuals hit with the pepper spray within the theater additionally had a reduce that evidently was brought on by a hatchet, Aaron stated. “Then Scott texted me and I immediately texted my mom”, Reynolds said.

” ‘An officer entered the theater where Mad Max was showing”.

The man spoke to reporters outside the Nashville-area theater and was identified by a police spokesman only as Steven because his family “does not want any kind of 15 minutes of fame”.

In the missing person’s report, Montano’s mother told authorities he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2006.

The man had two bags with him, and authorities checked the bags to make sure there was no additional danger.

When police told him it was time to leave, he began waving his arms wildly toward the officer.

Montano was named in a missing person report Monday.

Metro police said Montano’s troublesome behavior caused him to be hospitalized a number of times.

Ultimately the Department of Public Safety confirmed the remains were not Montano.

When he encountered Montano inside the dimly lit room, he said he heard three pops, resembling a small caliber weapon, and felt pressure on his face making him initially believe that he had been wounded.

Metro Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson said investigators need to fingerprint the attacker and do other analyses before releasing his identity.

It listed his address as “homeless” and says he ‘has a hard time taking care of himself.’.

“You always assume the worst”, Nelson said.

Police originally said that the suspect was 51 years old, but later revealed that their information was wrong and he was in fact 29.

The officers who fired their weapons are on routine administrative assignment pending completion of the preliminary investigation. “It was just by chance that I was the one that actively engaged him”, he said.