Man sprays fellow patron with pepper spray over cellphone use at Burbank cinema
Police arrested 34-year-old Matthew Ware after he pepper-sprayed a moviegoer who was using a phone during a screening at AMC Burbank 16.
At an AMC theater in downtown Burbank, Matthew Ware, 34, allegedly approached a viewer who was scrolling on a phone during the showing of “The Uprising.” After asking the patron to silence the device and being denied, Ware discharged pepper spray at the individual about 40 minutes into the movie. Witnesses pursued Ware as he ran out of the auditorium; police apprehended him in the lobby and booked him on a misdemeanor battery count.
The Burbank Fire Department responded, treating two other moviegoers who suffered irritation from the spray at a local hospital. The cinema pledged to refund every ticket purchased for the screening. The incident was described by a fellow audience member as the most unusual thing he had witnessed at a theater.
Why it matters
The episode highlights safety concerns and enforcement of phone-use policies in public venues.
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