Fallout from Colorado continues as Ron eyes theater exit

Is it time for metal detectors and bag checks in movie theaters in the wake of the Colorado shooting? (AP photo)

There are still plenty of questions about why a man attending a weekend screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Ohio was armed with a gun, knives, and extra ammunition. The lawyer for 37-year-old Scott Smith says it was simply a guy fearful for his own safety in light of the Colorado shooting.

“This was simply an instance where a man felt fear going into a movie theater in light of recent shootings and incidents around the country, and he wanted protection for himself,” attorney Matthew Bruce told Cleveland.com.

To many, it’s understandable. KIRO co-host Ron Upshaw went to a screening of the Batman movie Saturday and says he thought long and hard about an escape route, just in case the unthinkable happened.

“And so I’m looking around and was like ‘that’s my only way out’,” Upshaw says of the brief apprehension he felt as he scanned the theater.

“It would be inconceivable that this would happen, yet there I was thinking about it and planning it when I’m sitting there watching the movie. You can’t help but notice the irony in the movie when you see the villain walk in, open fire.”

Ron and Don raised the question of whether it’s time to implement bag searches or even metal detectors at more public places like movie theaters. In the Ohio incident, an off-duty officer working security spotted Smith carrying a suspicious looking satchel.

“I have no problem whatsoever,” says co-host Don O’Neill.

It’s a growing issue. There’s been a dramatic rise in the number of people buying guns and applying for concealed weapons permits since the Colorado shooting.

A number of listeners to the Ron and Don Show have commented they carry concealed weapons and would have been able to stop the Colorado gunman early on.

“‘If I was sitting in that theater, it would have gone differently’, guys tell me,” says O’Neill. “Because they would have returned fire and they would have taken down the gunman. And I think it’s hard to say that for any of us because no of us were in that movie theater.”

Upshaw also cautions more people packing heat could lead to bigger problems. It’s a point KIRO host Dave Ross has been hammering since the theater shooting. (Read Dave’s commentary)

He cites studies that find even police officers suffer a significant drop in accuracy when adrenaline flows, and worries about what could happen if untrained people start shooting in a panic situation.

“If we just have a bunch of people, a flood of people that don’t have any training, that don’t do it consistently, that when the adrenaline flows in that person, now you’re just squeezing the trigger,” Upshaw says.

“What I would say is if you’re going to pack heat, I hope you go and get the training you need and continue to get training,” says O’Neill.