Movie theaters are where we go to escape. When the lights dim, they let us leave reality for a short while and spend our time somewhere else. Unfortunately, sometimes reality intrudes on the movie-going experience in a harsh way. That was the case over the weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where an argument between patrons over seats led to gunfire in the theater and one man left dead amid a screening of No Hard Feelings.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that on Sunday evening, Michael Tenorio, 52, and his wife Trina purchased two tickets to see Jennifer Lawrence's mostly critic-approved comedy No Hard Feelings. The Century Rio theater in Albuquerque uses assigned theater seating, which has become much more common in recent years, especially post-pandemic. The couple purchased two seats, numbered eight and 11, as seats nine and 10 were taken. A theater employee allegedly suggested the couple sit together and asked the people sitting in seats nine and ten to move down the row.
When Enrique Padilla, 19, and his date arrived at the theater, an argument over the seating ensued. The date reportedly went to get a theater employee to de-escalate the situation, and the couples ended up sitting next to each other. That wasn’t the end of things, however as, before the movie started, Padilla allegedly threw an entire tub of popcorn in Trina Tenorio’s face. At this point, Michael Tenoria is reported to have pushed Padilla into a wall, and it was then that shots were heard.
Padilla allegedly fled the theater and was found in the bushes outside by police a short time later, as he'd been shot in the stomach. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment. CPR was performed on Tenorio, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. A firearm was found in the bushes near Padilla and a bullet casing found in the bushes near the weapon reportedly matched one found inside the theater.
As of this writing, Enrique Padilla has been charged with murder, shooting at a dwelling or occupied building, and tampering with evidence. At this point, police are not speaking openly about what they believed transpired as far as the shooting itself or how both men were shot. Witnesses who heard the gunfire claimed that as many as four to six shots may have been fired.
While shootings inside movie theaters are far from common, we, unfortunately, see incidents like this disturbing regularity. In 2021, a budding social media star was shot during a screening of The Forever Purge. In 2015, three people died after being shot inside a theater showing the Judd Apatow comedy Trainwreck. Those incidents followed a mass shooting event in Aurora Colorado in 2012. Since the shooting event during a screening of The Dark Knight safety inside movie theaters has become a major concern.
While a lot of details are still unknown, this appears to be an isolated case of a disagreement between people getting out of hand. Time will tell whether authorities choose to release additional information on the matter.
