Southington man charged with shotgun threat at Eastwood Mall theater

NILES

A man accused of brandishing a shotgun at the Regal movie theaters at the Eastwood Mall will be arraigned in Niles Municipal Court on Aug. 21 on a misdemeanor inducing-panic charge.

Matthew C. Kopp, 18, of state Route 305, Southington, was one of four young males involved in the 1:42 a.m. Tuesday episode.

The three other males were juveniles, and they will face misdemeanor inducing-panic charges in Trumbull County Juvenile Court.

A person called 911 saying the four males pointed a shotgun at other people and “racked it” at the theater, Niles police said.

Howland police, who initially received the call, located the males at the nearby Super K store and detained them.

Niles police took them into custody after witnesses identified them as the individuals who had pointed the gun. Police also recovered a shotgun.