Mystery Package Tossed Into San Jose Theater Showing 'Dark Knight' Causes Scare
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) - Moviegoers at a San Jose screening of "Dark Knight Rises" were evacuated Monday after someone tossed a mystery package into the aisle, according a published report.
Witnesses told police that someone opened a door during the late-night showing at the Eastridge Mall AMC theater, yelled out an expletive and tossed the suspicious package into the aisle.
The report in the San Jose Mercury News said moviegoers fled and those in other theaters in the complex, about 150 people total, were also evacuated.
San Jose police dispatched its bomb squad to the theater, but the device turned out to be harmless.
The incident was one of several scares nationwide at screenings of the new Batman movie in the wake of the Colorado movie theater massacre.
One witness, a 55-year-old man was asked not to be identified, told the Mercury News that the movie was about halfway over when the package was tossed in the center aisle, prompting moviegoers immediately next to it to stand motionless for a few moments.
"We were like deer in headlights," the man said. "We all stood and stared at it."
He said others in the audience also stood up in bewilderment.
"It was so surreal," the man explained. "That's why people didn't know how to react to it."
The report said a theater employee stated the box was the same kind used at the theatres to package plastic trash bags.
Police have not identified a suspect.
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