Woman shot in Washington state movie theater, man arrested

Police say a woman has been shot at a movie theater in the Seattle suburb of Renton.

An apparently intoxicated man who accidentally shot a woman in a Renton movie theater on Thursday night had a permit to carry the weapon, police said Friday.

Police responded to a shooting call shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday at Regal Cinemas in a shopping area called The Landing.

They said they believe the man and woman don’t know each other.

The suspect himself alerted the authorities after returning home and dialling the U.S. emergency number, 911, claiming he dropped the gun before it went off. The man reportedly said he had been drinking before the shooting, which was accidental.

The theater, located in the small central Washinton city of Renton, was playing Michael Bay’s political action film “13 Hours” – a controversial film about the Benghazi raid on a U.S. embassy in 2012 that left four Americans dead. The victim, who was unknown to the shooter, is in a serious condition but is expected to recover. A “loud pop” was heard, another witness said.

“We have witnesses that say he came into the theater and appeared intoxicated”.

Hansen used paper towels to put pressure on the woman’s wound until paramedics arrived.

The incident remains under investigation.