AMC Showplace Inver Grove To Beef Up Security After Colorado Shooting

Mendota Heights area residents heading to the AMC Showplace Inver Grove movie theater this weekend are going to see a larger police presence this weekend after a University of Colorado-Denver graduate student opened fire in a early Friday morning.

According to early media reports, 24-year-old suspect James Egan Holmes allegedly used an AR-15 assault rifle, a shotgun and a .40-caliber handgun in an attack that has left 12 dead and 59 wounded.

"The Inver Grove Heights police have been in touch with us (regarding the Colorado shooting)" AMC Showplace Inver Grove manager Eric Heskin told Patch. "They're going to patrol the theaters all weekend long." 

Inver Grove police chief Larry Stanger authorized additional patrols for the movie theater to simply reassure moviegoers.  

"We reached out to the manager of the theater to find out if they had any concerns," Stanger told Patch. "They told us they didn't have any concerns but that if the police wanted to have a couple extra squad cars swing through the parking lot or have an extra officer on duty in the lobby, they'd be happy to accomodate that."

Stanger reiterated that there is no reason to hesitate if people's weekend plans includes a trip to the movies. 

"We didn't want to just show up and have people start wondering why there were more police around. We wanted to keep people's peace of mind. We contacted the movie theater just to see if there was anything they wanted or needed from us." 

Heskin also remains confident of a fun, safe atmosphere at the AMC Showplace Inver Grove. "We're urging anyone and everyone to still come out to the movies this weekend."