'Purge' Movie Shooting: 2 Dead in Random Attack, Officials Say

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U.S.|2 Dead successful Random Shooting astatine ‘Purge’ Movie, Officials Say

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/31/us/anthony-barajas-died.html

Anthony Barajas, who was fashionable connected TikTok, and Rylee Goodrich were each changeable successful the caput astatine a theatre successful Corona, Calif., successful what the territory lawyer said was an unprovoked attack.

Employees cleaning an auditorium astatine  a Corona, Calif., theatre  recovered  2  radical   with gunshot wounds to their heads connected  Monday, the authorities said.
Credit...Terry Pierson/The Orange County Register, via Associated Press

Jesus Jiménez

July 31, 2021, 9:02 p.m. ET

A 2nd idiosyncratic died connected Saturday aft being changeable during a screening of “The Forever Purge,” a movie astir anarchy and murder, astatine a California theatre successful what the authorities called a “random and unprovoked attack.”

Anthony Barajas, 19, and Rylee Goodrich, 18, were each changeable successful the caput astatine a movie theatre successful Corona, astir 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles, connected Monday, the Riverside County territory attorney’s bureau said.

The constabulary said Mr. Barajas and Ms. Goodrich were together, attending a showing of “The Forever Purge,” which tells the communicative of “members of an underground movement” who are “no longer satisfied with 1 yearly nighttime of anarchy and murder,” according to a synopsis.

The killers successful the movie “decide to overtake America done an unending run of mayhem and massacre.” It is the 5th installment successful a movie franchise that started with “The Purge” successful 2013.

Theater employees cleaning the auditorium aft the movie ended recovered Mr. Barajas and Ms. Goodrich with gunshot wounds, the authorities said.

Ms. Goodrich was pronounced dormant astatine the scene. Mr. Barajas was taken to a hospital, wherever helium was enactment connected beingness support, the authorities said. Mr. Barajas died connected Saturday, the constabulary said.

Mr. Barajas was well known connected TikTok, wherever helium posted lip-sync videos, skits and interviews with strangers. He had much than 960,000 followers, immoderate of whom utilized the hashtag #ripanthony and #pray4anthony successful posts astir him.

Malik Earnest, his friend, wrote connected Twitter that Mr. Barajas was “wheeled down an ‘honor walk’ wherever helium would yet donate his organs truthful others whitethorn live.”

“I privation to convey everyone who lifted Anthony successful prayer,” Mr. Earnest wrote. “The injuries to his encephalon were irreparable.”

The Riverside County territory attorney, Mike Hestrin, said successful a statement connected Friday that Joseph Jimenez, 20, had been charged with, among different counts, execution and attempted murder.

The authorities said they were not releasing a motive for the shooting, and that determination did not look to beryllium a transportation betwixt Mr. Jimenez and Mr. Barajas and Ms. Goodrich.

“Based connected the grounds provided to our office, this appears to beryllium a random and unprovoked attack,” the connection said.

The constabulary said witness accounts led them to Mr. Jimenez, who was arrested connected Tuesday night. Detectives served a hunt warrant astatine his location successful El Cerrito, Calif., and recovered a firearm and different grounds related to the shooting, the constabulary said.

Regal Edwards Corona Crossings theatre was closed connected Saturday, and theatre officials did not instantly respond to a petition for comment. The venue is acceptable to unfastened connected Sunday, its website said.

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