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The only foolish comment I've seen by others who had "run ins" with this fella was some moronic woman who said he gave her dirty looks.
It was more than that:
According to Dixon, they sat next to Reeves and his wife.
Dixon admits she was texting on her phone and Reeves became irritated.
Although her phone was on silent and the only thing on was the light on the phone's screen, Dixon says it was enough to send Reeves running to find an usher.
"When the staff left, he became more irate. He became just upset about the whole situation. He kept staring, kept giving us dirty looks," she explained.
Wanting to avoid anymore trouble, Dixon told ABC Action News she turned off her cell phone.
According to Dixon, Reeves didn't stop. Instead, she watched as Reeves allegedly stood up and began yelling at another moviegoer to stop texting.
"I was like 'Oh my god! What is wrong with this guy?'" she said.
Dixon claims that is when Reeves turned his attention back to her. At the time, Dixon got up to take her niece to the bathroom.
"He followed me to the bathroom. I felt very uncomfortable," she explained.
I don't think anyone is defending Reeves. He didn't complain about people walking around or chatting during previews, and that is not prohibited in the theater but texting is, as it is annoying enough to people such that it is a rule. The victim seems to have escalated the situation by mocking the man who was already agitated. I'm saying in the past normally a younger person would not treat a 70 year old that way, even if the senior was being gruff or demanding, just because we were taught not to do that.
No one is defending Reeves' reaction here, there are just things to think about related to how people behave in public now.
Why would texting be annoying, but people walking around or chatting isn't annoying?
And while DURING a movie, obviously people using their cell phones can be disruptive, it can hardly be disruptive BEFORE, when people are doing so many different things to get settled.
And from the pictures, this is not some frail old senior. This is a robust man. I doubt that anyone in the theater pegged him for a 70-year old. And the texter wasn't a "younger person". He was in his 40's, so this was a man-to-man altercation. Not a kid disrespecting his elders situation at all.
I cant believe that so many folks on here are defending the shooter!?!? WTH??? He was wrong, plain and simple. And what is the big deal with texting that he felt he needed to get a manager, then argue with the guy, then shoot him. I couldnt care less if someone texts in a movie, if that person wants to waste 10-15 bucks, thats his perogative, especially BEFORE THE MOVIE STARTS. What is annoying is someone kicking my seat, or TALKING!!!
The bottom line is Floridas stand your ground law has created the wild, wild west. I am all for owning a gun. But when YOU start an argument, then the other person, gives it right back to you, and gets in your face, and then you claim you feared for your life, that is bullsh$t. Furthermore, who takes a gun into a movie theater? Anyone who does that is looking for a fight. There are far too many cases like this in Florida that have not garnered national attention, and it is long overdue that they tweak the law.
I have no problem blowing off someone head, if my home is entered, or if I am being robbed. However, these "self defense" shootings because I was scared are too numerous.
Yes, it was rude. It was rude of the 71-year-old to try to tell people what they could and could not do while people were seating themselves BEFORE the show. It wasn't rude for the 43-year-old father to use his cell phone to check on his 3-year-old daughter before the show. It was rude of him to respond to the 71-year-old's bossiness by throwing popcorn. It was way, way, way, way, way, way beyond rude for the 71-year-old to respond to the 43-year-old's rudeness by shooting him dead. And it's way, way, way, way, way beyond reasonable for you to defend the KILLER.
Reeves was not rude to ask/tell the guy to stop texting. Even if he had been, a normal person would just stop. I don't care who he was texting, that is irrelevant. He can take that out to the lobby. It was nasty to mock the older man when he went to complain. It was assault to throw the popcorn and the guy certainly didn't expect it to end there, he was looking for a fight doing that. Picking a fight with a senior citizen? Really? It's a tragedy and no winners here, but popcorn guy was a bully and if he had had manners he would have stopped the texting or at least not escalated things by making fun of Reeves.
I don't know where you're getting your information, but it's a bogus source.
The local Tampa radio station is reporting the Reeves wrestled with the off-duty cop and only gave up the struggle when the gun jammed. So this psycho was likely trying to shoot someone else as well. Crazy gramps will never walk a free man again and that is a good thing.
Access to guns are going to be restricted to those of "questionable temperament" or "mental instability" whether we agree to it or not. Obama has made that clear when he signed executive orders early this January regarding mental health records and gun control. Guns won't be outright banned anytime soon but we are seeing a very gradual erosion.
Why are these types of mass shootings happening with such great frequency? What has changed to cause this huge uptick in these types of incidents? Could any of these incidents possibly be contrived to create fear which leads people to ask authorities for more protection which then leads to more laws and in turn, more top down control? Could this possibly be a case of "problem, action solution" where those in power create a problem, citizens then beg for action and then those in power offer a solution? It's a tried and true way for those in power to make people think that their loss of freedom is their own idea. We are trading our freedom for security and the perception of safety all of the time. Just some things to think about.
Actually, there have been no upticks in these types of incidents, only increased media coverage of such events. The FBI confirmed this only a few days ago. Sorry, just because Mary Grace is having a hissy fit about a shooting doesn't mean the sky is falling.
If a look is a considered a run-in, I've had thousands of them, even a couple today. Hope I'm not on some list or something. I'm sure I would not even be bothered by a grumpy old man giving me the evil eye, it wouldn't be the first time. Sometimes I'm the one giving those dang kids the look.
Anyone see a generational issue here? Going out in public is very different now than even ten years ago, and so different from when seniors grew up. It's not fair to tell them to stay home, but it's nasty out there for anyone just wanting to go out for a relaxing time. It seems there is always a problem, whether on the road or at the destination, always someone or some group who has to ruin things for others. This would not have been tolerated in the past. A movie was just a movie, you sit there and watch it, laugh at funny parts, eat junior mints, maybe kiss your date a little, leave when it's over. Disrupters would be spoken to by an usher who was always present. If an elder person asked us to stop doing something we'd just do it because we were raised to respect elders and put up with them being grumpy and demanding sometimes.
We used to have a teens night at our theater that was all about being rowdy but there were rules there too. There was never any trouble, we didn't want to be tossed out.
The woman also said he followed her, still glaring at her, when she went to the ladies' room.
Yeah, that would have creeped me out a bit. Not enough to do anything about it, which she didn't, but enough to remember when this story hit the news, which is how she came to mention it to people.
Reeves was not rude to ask/tell the guy to stop texting. Even if he had been, a normal person would just stop. I don't care who he was texting, that is irrelevant. He can take that out to the lobby. It was nasty to mock the older man when he went to complain. It was assault to throw the popcorn and the guy certainly didn't expect it to end there, he was looking for a fight doing that. Picking a fight with a senior citizen? Really? It's a tragedy and no winners here, but popcorn guy was a bully and if he had had manners he would have stopped the texting or at least not escalated things by making fun of Reeves.
Texting before the movie starts is not against any rule. If someone gets annoyed that is their problem, not the person who is well within the rules of the location.
If me wearing a red shirt annoys someone and they tell me to change it, am I required to run change my shirt?
If I am doing something that is not breaking ANY rule, then others need to mind their own business.
Reeves was the one breaking the theater rules, not the victim.
I don't think anyone is defending Reeves. He didn't complain about people walking around or chatting during previews, and that is not prohibited in the theater but texting is, as it is annoying enough to people such that it is a rule. The victim seems to have escalated the situation by mocking the man who was already agitated. I'm saying in the past normally a younger person would not treat a 70 year old that way, even if the senior was being gruff or demanding, just because we were taught not to do that.
No one is defending Reeves' reaction here, there are just things to think about related to how people behave in public now.
Tamajane: Can we put a bit of perspective on this from a completely other angle entirely? The 43 year old Navy veteran father of a three year old was not breaking any conventional rules of respect by texting (a normally quiet non-privacy invasive exercise) during the previews of coming attractions when the lights are still on half-bright to allow movement of folks to and from their seats. This has become normal acceptable practice as much in the same way allowing kiddies to run to and fro before requiring them to settle down for a two hour feature Disney film.
Now here's my change-up to conventional wisdom and acceptable norms: I think it incredibly rude of a patron of the theater to bring a firearm into the theater, where it IS definitely prohibited, without my knowledge. Many on here haven't even addressed that little faux-paux. Given the severity of the infraction I'd much prefer the errant texter over the gun-toter in my presence. Here's why; I have never felt threatened by the presence of a cel-phone in the hands of anyone, but a firearm possibly being held by a person with anger or other mental issues; damn straight that's a far more egregious infraction of RUDE behaviour.
I reserve the right to have foreknowledge and subsequent right to move on down the road to the next theater if I don't like the cut of his jib. All too well and good these CCW's exist but just as this example has shown, they aren't all immune from a random aberrant behaviour event that could result in YOU or I being collateral damage and that trumps texting during the previews every single time.
Why would texting be annoying, but people walking around or chatting isn't annoying?
And while DURING a movie, obviously people using their cell phones can be disruptive, it can hardly be disruptive BEFORE, when people are doing so many different things to get settled.
And from the pictures, this is not some frail old senior. This is a robust man. I doubt that anyone in the theater pegged him for a 70-year old. And the texter wasn't a "younger person". He was in his 40's, so this was a man-to-man altercation. Not a kid disrespecting his elders situation at all.
He looks like a senior citizen to me. Do you pick physical fights with someone thirty years older? Early 40s vs. 70, that is a generations difference. I can't believe people are defending being threatening to a senior. See how you feel at 70 vs 40, even if you don't look frail.
I notice people of a certain age sometimes tend to get ornery, and it's not expecting too much for a Gen Xer in the prime of life to give a little leeway to an obviously older man without making a big deal.
Just saying, that would have been proper. Reeves is off his nut obviously and clearly hates texting, I wonder if he has a cell phone himself or is anti-tech.
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I'm sure I would not even be bothered by a grumpy old man giving me the evil eye, it wouldn't be the first time. Sometimes I'm the one giving those dang kids the look. 
