Dispute over seats in Albuquerque movie theater leads to deadly shooting, fleeing filmgoers

An argument over seating at an Albuquerque movie theater escalated into a shooting that left a man dead and sent frightened filmgoers scrambling to flee, police said Monday.

Detectives with the Albuquerque Police Department filed charges Monday in Metropolitan Court against 19-year-old Enrique Padilla in connection with the Sunday evening shooting.

The shooting happened just after 9 p.m. at the Century Rio theater next to an interstate, CBS affiliate KRQE-TV reported. Officers responded to the theater where "No Hard Feelings" was playing, the station reported, citing the arrest warrant.

Padilla was at a hospital under guard Monday evening while being treated for a gunshot wound, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said. It was unclear whether Padilla had a legal representative who could speak on his behalf.

APD homicide detectives charged Enrique Padilla, 19, for the fatal shooting on Friday during a dispute over seats at the Century Rio movie theater. pic.twitter.com/di11aaSypm

— APD Breaking News (@APD_PIO) June 26, 2023

Witnesses told police that a man later identified as Padilla arrived at the theater with his girlfriend and found another couple in at least one of their reserved seats.

Theater staff attempted to help resolve the dispute, but it escalated with a hurled bucket of popcorn, shoving and then gunfire, according to police.

Michael Tenorio, 52, was shot and died at the scene. His wife, Trina Tenorio, said he was unarmed.

The shooter fled, and a wounded Padilla was found hiding behind a bush outside an emergency exit, according to police. A gun was also found outside that was compatible with spent casings from the shooting.

Emergency dispatchers received about 20 calls as other people fled the theater.

A criminal complaint and arrest warrant against Padilla listed open counts of homicide, shooting at an occupied building and tampering with evidence.

The complaint said Padilla was wounded in the abdomen but did not give further explanation.

Police say witnesses said Padilla's girlfriend got in a fight with Tenorio's wife before she also ran from the scene, KRQE reported.

An off-duty police officer who was at the movie administered emergency aid to Tenorio. The officer witnessed the confrontation but did not see a weapon in the darkened theater, reporting a rapid-fire succession of gunshots before one man in the dispute ran out.

The company that owns the theater did not immediately respond to KRQE's request for comment.

In a social media post, Albuquerque police urged anyone who took video of the incident to submit it to the department's evidence portal.

Last year, in a high-profile case in Florida, a jury acquitted retired police SWAT commander Curtis Reeves of murder for fatally shooting a fellow moviegoer during an argument over cellphone use.

In:
• New Mexico
• Deadly Shooting
• Curtis Reeves
• Florida
• Albuquerque