What could have been another attack on the innocent public was avoided when a man went all armed into an Ohio movie theater showing the latest Batman movie. Scott A. Smith, 37 was charged for carrying a concealed weapon and 19 counts related to carrying weapons "under disability," charges that refer to the effects of prescription drugs Smith was taking, said Nicole DiSanto of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office. Police say Saturday night Smith went to the Regal Theater in Westlake, Ohio, to see the 10:30 p. m. showing of "The Dark Knight Rises." Smith was the first to arrive, 30 minutes before the movie's start, and took a seat in the back row, directly in the middle, with his back to a wall.

A manager at the theater and an off-duty police officer grew suspicious of where he sat, and they noticed the bag Smith was carrying. They asked to search the bag, DiSanto said, and inside found a loaded 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, two loaded magazine clips and three knives. Smith told the off-duty officer he was carrying the gun and knives for protection, to protect himself and other moviegoers, said police, who took him into custody.