Final credits turn deadly

  • 2011-02-23
  • From wire reports

RIGA - A Saturday evening at the movies for a Latvian man and his daughter turned to tragedy after an argument with another movie-goer over the loud munching of popcorn during the movie ended in fatal gunshots being fired. Aigars Egle was slain in front of his daughter after he reproached another movie-goer for his loud behavior in the theater, reports news agency LETA.

The two men, Egle, born in 1968 and the alleged killer, Nikolajs Zikovs, born in 1983, at the Forum Cinemas, had initially exchanged words about the popcorn at the beginning of the showing. Both were relatively calm as the movie continued, but the disagreement escalated as the film ended and they got up to exit.

According to eyewitnesses, during the movie Black Swan, Zikovs was loudly eating popcorn and making comments throughout the movie, and not reacting politely to other audience members’ requests to stop.
The argument heated up between the two as they got up to leave, when Zikovs pulled out a gun and fired four shots at Egle, killing him. Audience members said Zikovs then stood around, and when a security guard appeared tried to flee, whereupon the crowd stepped in to detain him until police arrived.

Zikovs is a doctoral student at the University of Latvia School of Law and a graduate of the Police Academy, though he has never served as a police officer. Though he had plenty to say during the movie, Zikovs now refuses to answer questions, exercising his legal right not to testify, reports Chief of Riga Region Criminal Police Andrejs Grisins.
Hi attorneys, Vilis Sruogis and Andrejs Voroncovs, said that their client’s actions were “in self defense,” that Zikovs was a victim of “unmotivated aggression,” and that he used “reasonable” force to protect himself. The police, however, have no reason to believe this version of events.

Zikovs will undergo psychiatric evaluation, and it is also not clear yet whether he was intoxicated during the tragic event.
Classmates say that Zikovs would attend graduate school lectures carrying a gun, and that once during a student outing he pulled out the gun to show everyone. The classmate recalled how active Zikovs was in lectures, always ready to express his viewpoint, that “He was always well prepared for lectures and seminars. He was a smart guy, but a bit odd. It was important for him to be the center of attention, and have the final word,” she said.

Maybe misunderstanding the severity of the crime, and charges, when asked why Zikovs’ gun was loaded in the movie theater, lawyer Sruogis replied that he “is not prepared yet to comment on such minute details.”

There are conflicting versions of who was taunting who in the dark movie theater. State Police Chief Artis Velss said in an interview on Latvian State Radio that the man who was shot was taunting and disturbing other audience members, and loudly commenting on the movie. The “assailant,” rather, had tried to “calm” his victim.

Velss also pointed out that currently there is no information that would indicate that the assailant, an avowed right-to-carry-a-gun advocate, should not have been granted the right to be carrying a gun.

Zikovs, however, was possibly in breach of weapons and special means of movement provisions of the law, which prohibits weapons at public events. The law states that “the individual is prohibited to bring weapons, ammunition and special equipment to public festivities, ceremonial, recreational, sporting or recreational activities in a public place, except when authorized by the event organizer. The Forum Cinemas Web site states that it is forbidden to carry firearms into the cinema.

Egle was head of Citadele Bank’s Department of Assets and Liabilities, and a father of four children.