A hatchet-wielding man, armed with what turned out to be a pellet gun, attacked a movie patron at a theater outside of Nashville Wednesday and sprayed others with pepper spray before he was shot dead by police, authorities said, NBC News reported.
Nashville police were called on a report of a suspected "active shooter" situation at the Carmike Hickory 8 theater in the suburb of Antioch at around 1:15 p.m., and a police officer who entered the theater said the suspect pointed what appeared to be a gun at the officer, Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson said.
The suspected firearm turned out to be an "airsoft" pistol that resembled a handgun, police said.
The suspect, identified late Wednesday as 29-year-old local Vincente David Montano, was shot dead by a SWAT team as he exited through the theater's rear door, Anderson said.