COLUMBUS, Ohio — A local college student, who asked not to be identified, said he and a group of his friends were excited to see Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse at Phoenix Theatres at Lennox Town Center 24 Saturday night. As they were walking into the theater, he said they were stopped in their tracks.
"We just hear this pop and it’s like, the best way to explain, is like someone exploding a chip bag, and everyone was really confused what was going on,” the witness said.
The witness said he then saw a man stand up and leave the theater, along with two children who were by his side. The witness said his seat was one row behind where that man was sitting, so he and his friends started heading that way.
"As we were walking up towards the seat, we saw smoke and it smelled like something was burning and so we looked around a bit and someone finally put their flashlight on and we saw like a trail of blood,” the witness said.
When police arrived on scene Saturday night, they found a man suffering with a gunshot wound in his leg. Officers said that man accidentally shot himself.
"I'm still even now a little bit shaken just thinking about like what could've happened, what did happen,” the witness said.
The man was taken to the hospital and his condition was described as stable. Police said no other injuries were reported.
"You just don't want these things to happen especially to my close friends like if one of them got injured, I honestly would've blamed myself because I picked the movie theater,” the witness said.
A sign on the door of the theater states firearms and deadly weapons are not allowed on the property.
The witness said he appreciated how staff at the theater in Clinton Township responded to the incident. He said they were provided with refunds, additional free movie tickets, and they also helped in calming witnesses down.
"Honestly, I wouldn't go back unless that same staff was there because they definitely made me feel safe after everything,” the witness said.