Photograph by ,a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/melinamanfrinatti/8391988575/”>Melina Manfrinatti
A former Florida police captain, who is accused of shooting a man in the cinema in an argument over texting during the movie previews, had just sent a text message himself according to new evidence.
Curtis Reeves texted his son, who was running late, to say that he and his wife had gone into the movie theatre and were seated at 13:04 local time (09:04 GMT), just minutes before the shooting on 13 January.
As Reevs’ son Matthew entered the cinema at around 13:20 he heard the gunshot that killed Chad Oulsen, who had become embroiled in an argument with Reeves for texting the babysitter of his young daughter during the movie previews before the film began.
Reeves has been charged with aggravated battery and second-degree murder, with a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty on both counts, claiming that he acted in self-defence, citing Florida’s infamous “stand your ground” law, which provided the defence for George Zimmerman shooting Trayvon Martin in 2012.
