David Escamillo, Miami Beach Man, Arrested After Batman Shooting Scare At Lincoln Road Theater

A Miami Beach man was detained by moviegoers and then arrested early Wednesday morning after a shooting scare caused a panic at a midnight screening of 'The Dark Knight Rises'.

Witnesses told police David Martin Escamillo, 44, was walking up and down the stairway "multiple times" in the back of a theatre as the most recent Batman film began screening at Regal Cinemas on Lincoln Road. After reportedly getting into a verbal altercation with another moviegoer, Escamillo left the theater and returned wearing black gloves, at which point he allegedly screamed, "This is it!"

The ruckus, just days after a horrific mass shooting at a similar midnight screening in Colorado left 12 people dead, caused a panic as nearly all of the 140 people in the theater ran for the exits -- some even leaving their shoes behind. Police responding to multiple calls of shots fired arrived to find Escamillo restrained by three moviegoers.

"I didn't shoot anybody!" he insisted to the officers, who noted that Escamillo appeared irrational and smelled like alcohol.

The three witnesses confirmed there had been no gunshots, but Escamillo was charged with disorderly conduct and affray. His $8,000 bond also includes a previous warrant for battery.

UPDATE: Escamillo spoke with NBC 6 about the incident, saying it was a misunderstanding that stemmed from him trying to find his friend so they could leave the theater.

“So I sat there and I looked and I finally found him and I said ‘Leon c'mon, please,’ I said ‘this is it,’ I was saying ‘this is it, the movie is over,’” he told the station.

Read more of his side of the story at NBC 6.