Fla. man arrested for causing movie panic

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MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Patrons at a Miami Beach, Fla., theater fled during a "The Dark Knight Rises" showing because of a man allegedly acting threateningly, police said.

Police said several people reported the man fired a gun into the Regal South Beach theater but officials determined the man didn't fire any weapon, was incoherent and possibly drunk, the South Florida Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale reported Tuesday.

Three moviegoers, including Nigh Ho, a tourist from Houston, subdued and held the man until police arrived.

"Honestly, I didn't know what was going on," Ho, 45, told the Sun Sentinel. "It only took a few seconds to realize that this could be something like what happened in Colorado," when a gunman opened fire in a theater July 20, killing 12 people and wounding 58.

Police said David Martin Escamillo, 44, of Miami Beach was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

Escamillo was yelling, "I didn't shoot anybody," an arrest report indicated. Officials said they found scattered shoes and sandals but no evidence of any gunshots.

Witnesses told police that Escamillo was seated at the rear of the theater when the movie started but got up and walked up and down the stairways several times before getting into an argument with another patron. He reportedly was wearing black gloves and shouted, "This is it," from the back of the theater.