Man wielding pellet gun, ax, attacks TN theater; shot by police

But the pistol turned out to be a dud, an airsoft gun, which usually fires BBs and plastic pellets – hardly a deadly firearm.

After the detonation, Aaron described the contents of the backpack as a “hoax device”.

A SWAT team responded to the scene, according to scanner traffic. He had an identification card that listed a Nashville address, Anderson said, but authorities want to check fingerprints to confirm his identity. Police said they are “not comfortable” with those backpacks and they will be detonated. He died in a shootout with police. The second bag, a “parcel”, was left in the back of the theater. All total, he hit three people with pepper spray and one person with the ax. He added one person may have been wounded by the hatchet.

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean also hailed police for their quick response.

Nashville police have since announced that the suspect is dead.

The man who was cut in the arm with the ax, who only identified himself as Steven, said he had no idea why Montano attacked his family.

Antioch is a community in southeast Nashville.

In a statement, Representative Gilliard said, “Given the past incidents and the one which occurred today in Tennessee, it is time for more immediate action which will enhance public safety”.

A shaken witness who was reportedly struck with pepper spray along with his daughter thanked police for saving their lives. We will not say we’re not going to theaters, we will not say we’re not going to church. He was armed with a gun and a hatchet.

Police officers responded within two minutes of getting a call of an active shooter, in part because a pair of officers were already working an accident nearby by, Aaron said.

One of the officers entered the theater and encountered the suspect.

During a Wednesday afternoon showing of “Mad Max: Fury Road”, Montano – donning a surgical mask – drew what looked like real semi-automatic pistol.

The body of the suspect is removed from a movie theater following a shooting Wednesday, August 5, 2015, in Antioch, Tenn.

Montano injured three people when he doused the theatre with pepper spray, police said. He said there were about 25 people there at the time, mostly children.

Video from the scene showed a heavy presence at the theater, with local, state and federal officers setting up a perimeter in the parking lot.