A 63-year-old man was attacked at a Florida movie theater after asking a couple to leave their reserved VIP seats, authorities said.
The violence erupted inside a Pompano Beach AMC when the victim and his wife arrived and saw a man and woman sitting in their seat, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The victim “politely” asked the suspect to move, according to the statement. Instead, the suspect “became hostile”, stood up and aggressively got in the face of the 63-year-old victim.
On Thursday, authorities released surveillance video of the incident, which happened shortly before 9:56 p.m. on July 10.
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Footage showed the much younger assailant getting into the older man’s face as a trailer for the Tom Cruise film Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 played on the screen.
“Subject got so close to the victim that he forced him to take a step back, ending up on the stairs of the theater driveway,” the sheriff’s office said. “Subject is seen standing over the 63-year-old victim, punching him repeatedly in the face until witnesses rush to the aid of the victim and remove the subject.”
The victim was injured in the head and face, authorities said. He was transported to an area hospital for treatment.
The suspect and his partner [shown above] left the theater and were shown in surveillance footage walking down a hallway.
In an interview earlier today, the victim – who declined to be named – recounted the ordeal to NBC6 South Florida.
“This guy kept staring at me instead of getting up,” the victim told the TV station. “I said to people at that time, who didn’t apologize or say thank you, I said ‘you can just keep the seats.’ As I walked away he said ‘go run to your wife little boy’ So I turned around and said ‘you know I’m not the one that’s a little boy, you took my places and you didn’t apologize or say thank you and I let you keep them.’
The press release was titled “A man gave his worst movie performance and detectives want to find him”.
The sheriff’s office asked anyone recognizing the suspect to contact the department at 954-493-TIPS (8477) or online at browardcrimestoppers.org.
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