A Boston man is furious after he claims he was assaulted by a group of teenagers at a movie theater in the city this past week.
Thiago Rentz, a 35-year-old Harvard researcher from Brazil, says he asked the group to be quiet during the horror film “Weapons” at the AMC Boston Common 19, and that didn’t work, so he tried again. But they were clearly not happy.
“They were there disturbing all of the people, clapping and screaming all the time,” he said. “I asked them for respect. I asked them to leave the theater because we just wanted to watch the movie.”
Once the movie was finished and everyone else had left the second floor theater, they allegedly wouldn’t let him leave.
“It was one, me against five,” Rentz explained of the fight.
“They made like a wall so I tried to pass to leave and they couldn’t let me pass,” he said, adding that his friend was 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.”
They all ran off fast, Rentz says, and his friend says she couldn’t find anyone working at first. She eventually found a cleaning lady, who led them to a security guard, who called for help. That’s when EMT’s arrived.
“Then after 30 minutes or more, the police came to get my statement,” he said.
By the time Boston police arrived around 12:45 a.m., the theater on Tremont Street was closed and officers were unable to speak to any employees. The police report notes that Rentz said he was assaulted at 12:15 a.m. and that he had a minor injury to his nose.
Rentz, who has a black eye, says he never expected he would be involved in a violent scene reportedly witnessed by many. He says he’s heard nothing from AMC Theater since the attack and he wants something to be done to make customers feel safe.
“Harassment is not good in a public space,” Rentz said. “This is absurd, so I think they need to hire more people to work as security.”
Rentz says he’ll follow up this week to make sure security cameras are being checked to help identify those involved. He says the teenagers were all dressed in black but their faces were exposed.
“I want the attackers to be identified because they need to be punished,” he said.
NBC10 Boston reached out to AMC Theater twice for comment but has not heard back.
