Patron Stabbed At Screening Of "Purge" Movie

JULY 11--As patrons awaited the start of the latest blood-soaked “Purge” movie, a dispute over a reserved seat ended with a Texas man plunging a knife six inches into the abdomen of a fellow moviegoer, police report.

According to investigators, Bryan Morrison, 40, sought to sit in a series of reserved seats at a Friday night showing of “The First Purge” at a theater in Sherman, a city near the Texas-Oklahoma line.

After being shooed away from several reserved spots in theater #10, Morrison sat down in a seat that had been reserved by Terry Honore, who was accompanied by his wife Anna at the Cinemark Sherman.

When the Honores arrived and found Morrison, seen at right, and an unknown woman sitting in their seats, a “verbal altercation” ensued, according to a criminal complaint. Morrison and his companion eventually decamped to new seats.

But when Morrison subsequently walked past the Honores and declared, “I should be able to sit where I want,” the dispute flared. Morrison, cops allege, asked Honore “something to the effect of, ‘Do you want some?’” As the men proceeded to exchange punches, Morrison allegedly stabbed Honore in the stomach. Honore is pictured at left with his wife following the couple's wedding last month.

Morrison fled the theater after plunging the knife into Honore, who was transported to a local hospital for treatment (and is expected to make a full recovery). Morrison was arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a felony carrying a maximum 20-year prison term.

Locked up in lieu of $25,000 bond, Morrison is a convicted felon whose rap sheet includes multiple assault convictions.

“The First Purge,” the fourth installment of the horror franchise, is a prequel that details the origins of the annual consequence-free holiday during which Americans are allowed to commit any and all crimes during a prescribed 12-hour period. The film, which opened July 4, has, to date, grossed nearly $50 million worldwide. (3 pages)