Iron Man Stunt Goes Wrong as Moviegoers Call Police; Saw 'Man Dressed in All Black and Body Armor and a Rifle'

As Missouri “Iron Man 3” fans left the movie theater after viewing the latest installment of the Tony Stark story, they were in a for a huge surprise. In fact some even felt the need to call local authorities.

Moviegoers in Jefferson City notified police after they spotted a man carrying an assault weapon near the movie theater, according to Yahoo.com. It turned out to be an attempt at promoting the movie. The idea was to emulate members of S.H.I.E.L.D., the agency made famous by Marvel Comics.

However, instead of being awed by the promotion, individuals were worried as they remembered the massacre at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado just a year ago.

“We had just finished watching 'Iron Man 3'. We're just getting into the car when I spotted a man in full assault gear, carrying what appeared to be a modified M-4 and 9 mm on his side,” United States Army Veteran John Morlock, told ABC 17 News.

According to Captain Doug Shoemaker of the Jefferson City Police Department, authorities “received a series of 911 calls stating that a man dressed in all black and body armor and a rifle was walking into Capital 8 Theaters.”

“Everything was in place, it’s the opening night of a superhero movie, it’s somebody walking in all-dark clothes, everything pointed to bad things about to happen. There’s really no good that can come of this,” Shoemaker went on to say.

Bob Wilkins, manager of the movie theater, issued a statement apologizing to the moviegoers:

“We apologize and are sympathetic to those who felt they were in harm’s way with our character promotion for 'Iron Man 3'.”

“This was not a publicity stunt. We have worked with the Cosplacon group on many movies to dress up and help entertain our customers. We have had many complaints about the members dressed specifically as S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives carrying fake guns.

“We didn’t clearly tell our customers and some people didn’t realize it was for entertainment purposes only. We apologize that police were called to come out to our theater. We have a wonderful working relationship with the Jefferson City Police Department.

“Going forward we will take the necessary steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Security and safety for our customers is our number one priority.”