'Purge' Movie Shooting: 2 Dead in Random Attack, Officials Say

U.S.|2 Dead in Random Shooting at ‘Purge’ Movie, Officials Say

A second person died on Saturday after being shot during a screening of “The Forever Purge,” a movie about anarchy and murder, at a California theater in what the authorities called a “random and unprovoked attack.”

Anthony Barajas, 19, and Rylee Goodrich, 18, were each shot in the head at a movie theater in Corona, about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles, on Monday, the Riverside County district attorney’s office said.

The police said Mr. Barajas and Ms. Goodrich were together, attending a showing of “The Forever Purge,” which tells the story of “members of an underground movement” who are “no longer satisfied with one annual night of anarchy and murder,” according to a synopsis.

The killers in the movie “decide to overtake America through an unending campaign of mayhem and massacre.” It is the fifth installment in a movie franchise that started with “The Purge” in 2013.

Theater employees cleaning the auditorium after the movie ended found Mr. Barajas and Ms. Goodrich with gunshot wounds, the authorities said.

Ms. Goodrich was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr. Barajas was taken to a hospital, where he was put on life support, the authorities said. Mr. Barajas died on Saturday, the police said.

Mr. Barajas was well known on TikTok, where he posted lip-sync videos, skits and interviews with strangers. He had more than 960,000 followers, some of whom used the hashtag #ripanthony and #pray4anthony in posts about him.

Malik Earnest, his friend, wrote on Twitter that Mr. Barajas was “wheeled down an ‘honor walk’ where he would ultimately donate his organs so others may live.”

“I want to thank everyone who lifted Anthony in prayer,” Mr. Earnest wrote. “The injuries to his brain were irreparable.”

The Riverside County district attorney, Mike Hestrin, said in a statement on Friday that Joseph Jimenez, 20, had been charged with, among other counts, murder and attempted murder.

The authorities said they were not releasing a motive for the shooting, and that there did not appear to be a connection between Mr. Jimenez and Mr. Barajas and Ms. Goodrich.

“Based on the evidence provided to our office, this appears to be a random and unprovoked attack,” the statement said.

The police said witness accounts led them to Mr. Jimenez, who was arrested on Tuesday night. Detectives served a search warrant at his home in El Cerrito, Calif., and recovered a firearm and other evidence related to the shooting, the police said.

Regal Edwards Corona Crossings theater was closed on Saturday, and theater officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The venue is set to open on Sunday, its website said.