TikTok star, friend shot while watching ‘Purge’ movie. They weren’t found until theater staff came in to clean.



A TikTok star is reportedly on life support and his friend is dead following a shooting at a Southern California movie theater Monday night.

The woman who was found dead has been identified as 18-year-old Rylee Goodrich and the wounded victim has been identified as 19-year-old Anthony Barajas of social media fame. Barajas, known online as itsanthonymichael, has nearly 1 million followers on TikTok and thousands more on other platforms.

The pair were watching the violent horror flick, "The Forever Purge," at a 9:30 p.m. showing at a Regal Cinemas movie theater in Corona when they were attacked, KCAL-TV reported.

The movie is the fifth installment in the "Purge" series, a collection of dystopian horror films centering on the premise that in the future, America will hold an annual national holiday known as The Purge, in which all crime — including murder — is legalized for a 12-hour period.

Law enforcement have not reported any leads or suspects and the incident remains a complete mystery. Barajas and Goodrich were reportedly found by a cleaning crew at the theater who came in to sweep the area following the movie.

"At some point, the employee or employees walk inside the theater to conduct their clean-up or walk through and that's when the 911 call was placed," Corona Police Department Cpl. Tobias Kouroubacalis said. "[They said] that there was an unknown problem, somebody was bleeding, there wasn't very specific information given.

"We don't have any suspect information right now," Kouroubacalis added. "We have no information to lead us to believe there is an active threat to our community or any surrounding community right now."

Each of the victims clearly suffered from gunshot wounds, but no gun was found at the scene, authorities noted. Another problem facing investigators is the small audience that was present at the time of the crime, the Associated Press reported. Theater staff reported that only six tickets were sold for the showing.

Police are now asking members of the community to come forward with any information involving the shooting.

Both Barajas and Goodrich are local to the Corona area. Goodrich was reportedly home on summer break from Grand Canyon University, a private Christian university in Arizona.

Her cousin, Ashley Cole, told KCAL she believed the crime may have been premeditated.

"When there's [sic] only six people in a movie theater, to me, that's not what I imagine someone that's not going with intentions to kill someone to do," Cole said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Goodrich's family cover the cost of her funeral.

Rylee Goodrich Killed, Anthony Barajas On Life Support After Being Shot Inside Corona Movie Theater www.youtube.com

California judge rules shooting victims can sue Smith & Wesson



A San Diego judge ruled last week that the victims of a 2019 shooting in a California synagogue can sue Smith & Wesson, the gun manufacturer that made the weapon used in the assault, for damages.

Judge Kenneth Medel of the Superior Court for San Diego County rejected an argument made by Smith & Wesson claiming lawsuits are prohibited under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), Reuters reported.

The federal law is meant to provide protection to firearms manufacturers and retailers when their products are used in criminal activity. But in their June 2020 lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that Smith & Wesson shouldn't be shielded by the regulation because it broke state law by designing the M&P15 rifle to be easily modified into an "assault weapon."

In his ruling, Medel agreed that the gunmaker's alleged misleading marketing violated California's unfair competition law.

According to Reuters, plaintiffs argued the company used marketing "that attracted impulsive young men with military complexes who were particularly likely to be attracted to the unique ability of AR-15 style weapons."

Plaintiffs noted the "M&P" in the name stands for "military and police," but argued the gun was largely sold to civilians, including the alleged shooter, then 19-year-old John Earnest.

Last month, Earnest, now 21, signed a conditional plea agreement that is now in the hands of U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Earnest is accused of opening fire in a synagogue in Poway, California, in April 2019, killing one person and wounding three others. There were reportedly 54 people in the synagogue at the time of the shooting.

Earnest may still face the federal death penalty for his crimes, but plaintiffs in the Smith & Wesson case want punishment for his crimes to extend to the gun industry, as well.

"Today's judgment is a victory, and an important step on the road to justice for the victims of the shooting at Chabad of Poway Synagogue, and all Americans who believe that the gun industry is not above the law," said Jonathan Lowy, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in a statement. "We look forward to proving our case in court, and working to prevent future tragedies."

The lawsuit reportedly seeks unspecified damages in addition to an injunction against Smith & Wesson requiring the gunmaker to cease its allegedly deceptive marketing campaigns.

TheBlaze reached out to Smith & Wesson seeking comment on the recent ruling but has not yet received a response.

Multiple people, including 1 child, shot and killed at California business complex



Four people, including one child, are dead after a suspect opened fire at an Orange, California, business complex on Wednesday evening, NBC News reported.

What are the details?

The carnage occurred Wednesday when a suspect entered a business complex and began shooting around 5:30 p.m.

A fifth victim was shot and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The suspect was also shot and remains hospitalized at the time of this reporting. NBC News reported that both were in critical condition as of Wednesday night.

Orange Police Lt. Jennifer Amat revealed that officers engaged the suspect in an officer-involved shooting.

Amat explained that the business complex houses several offices and added, "It is a situation that was moving from different areas, so it's my understanding it's throughout that area."

Police said that investigators were working to determine a motive.

On Thursday, CNN reported that one firearm was uncovered at the scene of the killing. No officers were injured during the incident.

"I can tell you that we haven't had an incident like this in the city of Orange since 1997," Amat said according to the outlet. "It's just such a tragedy for the victims, their families, our community and our police department."

Wednesday's killing marked the third of its kind in as many weeks. In the month of March alone, a gunman opened fire on several Atlanta spas, killing at least eight people. Just a week later, another suspect opened fire on a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, killing 10 people.

No other information about the victims was available at the time of this reporting. Officials said the next news conference is set for 10 a.m. local time on Thursday.

In a statement on the deaths, California Gov. Gavin Newson (D) condemned the killing and said that the events were "horrifying and heartbreaking."

"Our hearts are with the families impacted by this terrible tragedy tonight," Newsom tweeted.

Horrifying and heartbreaking. Our hearts are with the families impacted by this terrible tragedy tonight. https://t.co/nw3On2RJH2
— Gavin Newsom (@Gavin Newsom)1617247337.0