Philadelphia movie-goers undeterred by Colorado shooting

With the shooting in a Colorado movie theater claiming at least 12 lives, are people here changing their weekend entertainment plans? It appears the answer is no.

The UA Riverview Stadium 17 theater on Columbus Boulevard was bustling with patrons, including several buses full of schoolchildren, Friday just hours after the shooting in Colorado.

Movie-goer Erica Puglisi said she wasn’t concerned about going to see the same Batman movie that was shown in the Aurora, Colo., theater.

“I still want to see the movie,” Puglisi said. “I feel safe and secure and want to see it.”

Puglisi was a little less certain after learning that there had been a shooting at Riverview three years ago.

“Yeah I didn’t know that,” she said. “It makes me nervous, absolutely.”

Jake Winegrad, who said he loved the movie, came to the theater not knowing about the shooting. Still, he says, it wouldn’t have made a difference.

“It seems like an isolated incident … maybe if there had been multiple incidents of that,” he said. “But just a single person acting out erratically … “

Dennis Weinberg had heard the news before going to the Riverview to see the movie.

“I wasn’t going to let it ruin my experience coming to see this movie, the fear of a potential threat,” he said. “The movie launched nationwide, and there was only one incident.”

Another movie-goer, Anthony Dispensa, said he’s confident a similar shooting would never happen in Philadelphia.

“Honestly, because I believe that somebody would shoot back at the guy if he came here,” he said. “I’m being realistic with you.”

Representatives of the theater management didn’t offer any comment, and there was no police presence at the theater.