Man Shot Dead in New Mexico Movie Theater in Argument Over Seating

A confrontation at a New Mexico movie theater turned deadly on Sunday night.

Michael Tenorio, 52, was fatally shot after an alleged argument with a teen moviegoer, who claimed Tenorio and his wife were in the teen's reserved seats at the Century Rio movie theater in Albuquerque, Fox News reports. Enrique Padilla, 19, is accused by police of shooting Tenorio in the chest, then fleeing the scene. The shooting sparked panic among the other moviegoers, who ran for their lives as they heard gunshots. 

“There was a sense of chaos here,” police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said at the scene, according to the Albuquerque Journal. “A lot of people were running from the theaters and trying to get out of the way.”

According to a criminal complaint obtained by the outlet, Tenorio and his wife, Trina Tenorio, bought tickets for the 8:50 p.m. showing of the romantic comedy, No Hard Feelings. 

The couple picked seats 8 and 11 in Row F, but a theater employee suggested they sit together and ask the two people in seats 9 and 10 to scoot over, the complaint said, per the Albuquerque Journal.

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However, when Padilla and his girlfriend arrived at the theater, a fight over the seat change allegedly began. Padilla's girlfriend summoned an employee, according to the outlet, who offered a refund, but eventually the two couples were seated next to each other in the theater. Once the employee left, Padilla allegedly threw a bucket of popcorn at Trina, sparking the altercation, the complaint states, per the Albuquerque Journal and the Associated Press. Then, witnesses allegedly saw Tenorio shove Padilla and heard gunshots.

Trina said her husband was unarmed, according to the Los Angeles Times. An off-duty police officer who was at the movie tried to help Tenorio and witnessed the altercation, but did not see a weapon.

Padilla fled the scene but was later found by police hiding behind a bush outside, ABC News reports. The teen — who was reportedly wounded in the abdomen — was rushed to the hospital and charged with homicide, shooting at an occupied building and tampering with evidence, the AP reports.

Gallegos said Padilla had not entered a plea or retained a lawyer to speak on his behalf. He said it was unclear how Padilla was wounded or what motivated him to allegedly open fire.

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said that Tenorio died at the scene despite an off-duty cop’s CPR efforts in the theater, according to the Albuquerque Journal, adding, “What used to be simple everyday confrontations escalate to a point to the shooting, because people are making poor decisions when they’re armed with the firearm."

The Albuquerque Police Department is asking anyone with video evidence of the incident to submit it online.