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MUNCIE - The young military veteran who shot and killed himself in a Muncie movie theater late Monday has been identified as Jacob W. Sexton, 21, of Farmland.
Sexton was on leave from serving in the Afghanistan war, but was set to return, according to the coroner's office.
Sexton was in the movie theater with three companions, two of them his brothers, watching "Zombieland."
City police Sgt. Mike Engle said the shooting took place about 20 minutes into a late-night showing of the motion picture, a Woody Harrelson comedy with a horror theme, at the Kerasotes Showplace 12, 800 E. Princeton Ave.
Police were called to the theater about 10:30 p.m.
In addition to the shooting victim, his two brothers and a friend, about eight other people were in the theater at the time, the police sergeant said.
Witnesses reported hearing a loud pop, then were further startled to hear the victim's companions scream over what they had just witnessed, with one of the young men beating on a wall in anguish.
Sexton died of a gunshot wound in the head. No one else was injured, according to police.
Engle said one of the other men was the owner of the handgun involved, and had handed it to the shooting victim, at his request, just before the fatal shot was fired.
Police believe at least three of the young men, including Sexton had been drinking before going to the theater.
Sexton had argued with theater employees after being asked to produce an ID to view the R-rated movie, saying he had killed 18 people in the service of his country, witnesses told police.
Investigators were able to interview nearly nearly all of the other theater patrons who were viewing the movie at the time of the shooting, Engle said about 2 a.m. Tuesday.
Monday's incident came only three days after the Friday night arrest of an Iraq War veteran from Lynn who allegedly fired a shotgun at Randolph County sheriff's deputies. Those officers were not wounded.
FRIEND, HOW IS THIS REAL LIFE??? I mean for real, we could very easily have been there. We go there all the time. Fuck, we'll probably be there incredibly soon because of Where the Wild Things Are. I wonder if they'll close down the whole place or if it'll just be that theater. I wonder if they'll release which theater it was in. Urgh, now everytime I go there I'm going to be wondering if I'm sitting where the guy shot himself :(
Also: why would you go to a movie after you'd been drinking? Why would you go see a violent movie when you've already obviously got some war-related issues? Why would you hand your gun over to your possibly mentally-unstable veteran brother? WHO THE HELL KILLS THEMSELVES IN THE MIDDLE OF A MOVIE IN FRONT OF YOUR BROTHERS AND OTHER WITNESSES?!?!?! I think it's awful that this guy was obviously pretty fucked up and dealing with shit and staring down the prospect of another tour. I've made no secret of my opinion of war and the fact that it fucks people up and I think it's awful that this kid had to deal with that. However. I think it's incredibly selfish to go into a public place and blow your brains out, especially in the sort of situation where the other people involved never could have seen it coming and might have avoided it. They were at the back of the theater and nobody knew what was going on until they either had body parts on them or heard the screams. That is fucking fucked up. If you're messed up and want to end it, fine, I guess that's your perrogative, but it's bullshit to fuck other people up like that. The brothers and those 8 witnesses are now scarred for life, which is not ok. He clearly did not just snap and have a flashback or something--it kind of screams premeditation and if nothing else, he had the presence of mind to ask for the gun, which means that he had the presence of mind to get the fuck out of there and spare those other people. Idk, maybe I'm a bitch, but I think it's bullshit to fuck other people up on the way out.
