A 34-year-old man from Los Angeles was taken into custody after allegedly using pepper spray on a fellow moviegoer who was using a cellphone at an AMC theater in Burbank. The incident left at least two people requiring hospital treatment.
Witnesses reported hearing the aerosol spray’s hiss before a victim screamed. Police quickly apprehended the suspect in the theater lobby and arrested him.
This incident has stirred vigorous debate online among cinema enthusiasts. Some empathize with the frustration over phone use during movies, while others criticize the pepper-spray tactic as excessive.
The suspect, identified as Matthew Ware, was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. Burbank Police spokesperson Lt. Brent Fekety confirmed that officers responded around 5:30 p.m. to the AMC 16 theater. Ware was later booked into Burbank Jail and released the next morning, according to online jail records.
A moviegoer recounted to KTLA-TV that he called the police after hearing the hissing sound just moments before someone exclaimed they had been pepper-sprayed. Social media images showed officers arresting a man in cargo shorts and a black T-shirt from the ‘Terrifier’ horror series. Two other patrons received medical treatment due to the pepper spray exposure, KTLA reported.
The event has generated numerous comments on social media. Some users defended Ware, sharing their own frustrations with cellphone use in theaters. However, others expressed less understanding. As one person remarked on a social platform, “People on their phones in the theater are beyond idiots, but you cannot go pepper spraying them.”