Crime & Safety

Heightened Security at Monmouth Mall Movie Theater in Wake of Colorado Shooting

Moviegoers will be asked not to bring large bags or backpacks into the Monmouth Mall theater.

Eatontown Police Department patrols and Monmouth mall security will be increased this weekend and for the next few weeks after a 24-year old man shot and killed 12 people at a Colorado movie theater screening of The Dark Knight Rises early this morning.

Eatontown Police Detective Lawrence Tyler said the police department always has two extra patrolmen at the AMC Loews Theater on Friday and Saturday nights, but said there will be more units patrolling the area following the Colorado incident.

Eatontown Police Chief Michael Goldfarb had a meeting with mall management Friday morning and was told there will be extra mall security officers stationed at the movie theater this weekend and through the running of The Dark Knight Rises.

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Tyler said any moviegoer who shows up wearing a mask will be asked to remove it. During the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises many fans wore Batman or other movie character masks at the AMC Loews Theater. The shooter wore a gas mask when the shooting happened this morning.

Tyler said people who try to enter the movies with large bags or backpacks will be asked to leave them in their car for security reasons.

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"We're not doing this in response to any credible threat, we are just being hyper vigilant after what happened (in Colorado)," Tyler said.

The suspect, James Holmes, entered the theater and opened fire on the crowd before he was found in the parking lot and did not resist arrest, CNN said. The incident was made worse by the fact that the theaters were sold out and packed with people because of the opening night of the Batman film.


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