8 Patrons Shot in Theater After Film Opening

BAKERSFIELD — The crowd gathered for the opening night of “I Got the Hook Up” was so rowdy that a dozen or so moviegoers got up and left, complaining that there was too much beer-swilling, smoking and boisterousness.

Then an even more chaotic scenario ensued once the film ended late Wednesday.

A handful of youths donned blue masks, and one pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and fired at patrons in the lobby. Eight people were hit, although none were seriously injured.

“It’s very surprising that no one was hit in a more fatal area,” Sgt. Mike Cantrell said Thursday.

As the gunshot victims were being released from local hospitals or undergoing surgery for minor wounds, police were searching for the gunman, three or four others in his group, and a motive.

Owners of the United Artists theater complex, at the East Hills shopping mall, have pulled the new movie and stepped up security.

Ray Nutt, a United Artists spokesman in Colorado, stressed that the company does not think the film’s content played a role in the shootings. The move was being made to accommodate customers or employees who may feel that way, he said.

The film is a comedy, starring rapper Master P and A.J. Johnson, about two men who use their van to sell illegally acquired cellular phones.