What was supposed to be a late-night escape into a horror film turned into a real-life nightmare for a Harvard researcher who says he was assaulted by a group of teenagers.
Thiago Rentz, a 35-year-old from Brazil, said the attack happened at the AMC Boston Common 19 theater in Boston on Sunday after he asked the teens to quiet down during a screening of the horror movie Weapons.
“They were there disturbing all of the people, clapping and screaming all the time,” Rentz recalled to NBC10. “I asked them for respect. I asked them to leave the theater because we just wanted to watch the movie.”
But when he was ignored, he tried again. The teens didn’t take it well, he said. When the movie ended and most people had left the theater, that’s when he said the group turned on him.
“It was one, me, against five,” Rentz said. “They made like a wall so I tried to pass to leave and they couldn’t let me pass,” he explained. His friend, he added, began screaming for help.
“They just punched me. I didn’t fight back. I was like scared and then I just faced the wall, and I just protected my face in my head, but the target was obviously my head because they were punching my head and my face.”
The teens then fled the scene, leaving Rentz shaken, bruised, and bleeding. His friend frantically searched for help and eventually found a cleaning worker, who led them to a security guard and that’s when the EMTs were called.
“Then after 30 minutes or more, the police came to get my statement,” Rentz said.
Boston police arrived around 12:45 a.m., but by then the Tremont Street theater had closed for the night. Officers noted in their report that Rentz said the assault happened at about 12:15 a.m. and that he suffered a minor injury to his nose, NBC10 reported.
Days later, Rentz still has a black eye from the attack. He said the most unsettling part is that it happened in a room full of witnesses – and that he has yet to hear anything from AMC.
“Harassment is not good in a public space,” he said. “This is absurd, so I think they need to hire more people to work as security.”
The Independent has reached out to AMC for comment.
Rentz says he plans to follow up this week to make sure security cameras are reviewed. He said the teens were dressed in black but said their faces were exposed.
“I want the attackers to be identified because they need to be punished,” he said.
