Newport theater scare: 4 people questioned; 1 attended movie, police say

Four young people who revved a leaf blower at a fast-food restaurant in Irvine shortly before a similar incident caused a panic in a Newport Beach movie theater have turned themselves in and are cooperating with investigators, police said Wednesday.

Detectives have been interviewing the four and determined that at least one of them went to a Saturday night screening of “The Gift” at Edwards Big Newport 6, where an intruder raised a leaf blower above his head and yelled, prompting frightened moviegoers to flee, Newport Beach Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella said.

On Tuesday, police released surveillance pictures of the people being sought and the vehicle they may have been using, a silver Ford full-size pickup with four doors.

Police referred to the three males and one female as “persons of interest.” They said they were 15 to 20 years old.

About an hour before the theater incident, all four were at an In-N-Out Burger near UC Irvine, where they started a leaf blower and pointed it at bystanders to “elicit a reaction,” Manzella said.

No one reported that incident to police at the time, she said, but investigators took a closer look after the scare at the Newport cinema, where some moviegoers believed the leaf blower was a chainsaw or a gun.

Police said they believe someone in the theater opened an exit door to let in a co-conspirator carrying the blower.

Katrina Wolfe, who was watching the movie with her boyfriend, said she thought their lives were in danger.

“Both my boyfriend and I believed that this was a person with a weapon — probably a gun — and fully expected shooting to start at any moment,” Wolfe said. “We crawled as fast as we could on our knees.”

Some people suffered minor injuries from being trampled during the panic, police said.

“People were leaving shoes, wallets, purses strewn everywhere. I left my purse,” Wolfe said. “There was a young girl there with her father who was screaming and crying hysterically.”

Police said they are not treating the incident as a minor prank, especially in light of highly publicized shootings and other attacks at movie theaters across the country.

Authorities encouraged anyone with information about the case to contact Newport Beach police Det. Joshua Vincelet at (949) 644-3779. Anonymous tips can be left at (800) 550-NBPD (550-6273).

Matt Hamilton of the Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.