THEATERS BEEFING UP SECURITY IN WAKE OF SHOOTING

Theater chains quickly acted to beef up security following the early morning shooting at an Aurora, CO theater showing The Dark Knight Rises that left at least 12 dead and as many as 50 injured. The Boston Herald quoted a spokesperson for one popular local theater, CinemaSalem, as saying that it was making sure that all emergency exits are locked to outsiders, after reports indicated that the Colorado shooter came in through an exit. However, the spokesperson added, “We haven’t had too much of a chance to really do anything drastic at this point.” The NYPD said that it plans to increase security at theaters showing Dark Knight Rises in all five boroughs “as a precaution against copycats and to raise the comfort levels among movie patrons.” A spokesman for the AMC theater chain said that it was “reaching out to all of our theaters to review our safety and security procedures.”Regal Entertainment, the nation’s largest theater chain, said that it is monitoring the situation and will adjust security as needed. National Amusements said that it does not discuss its security measures “but are reviewing those measures with our theater personnel.” St. Louis-based Wehrenberg Theatres, which operates 15 theaters in the Midwest, said that it had reviewed its security measures and doesn’t plan to change them.