‘Forever Purge’: Teen killed in a dark crime at this movie screening
When you go see the latest installment of The Purge franchise, The Forever Purge, the last thing you expect is for someone to reenact the Purge IRL. Sadly, that’s what happened at a showing of The Forever Purge in California.
The dark crime took place in Corona, CA, on Monday night, when eighteen-year-old Rylee Goodrich and nineteen-year-old Anthony Barajas were shot in a movie theater on Monday night. Goodrich was found dead at the scene and Barajas was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
So why did a movie franchise turn into a dark, grizzly crime straight out of our nightmares? Is this just another shooting, a crime that happens all too frequently in the U.S., or something else? Let’s dive in.
Shooting
Rylee Goodrich and Anthony Barajas went to see the 9:35 showing of The Forever Purge on Monday at 9:35 PM. It’s unclear what their relationship was, but Corona PD’s report of this dark crime revealed that Goodrich & Barajas attended the showing together. Later information revealed the theater was uncrowded, and only six tickets were purchased for the showing.
Police responded to a gunshot wound reported at the Regal Edwards Corona Crossings RPX theater. According to the police, they “recovered items of evidentiary value; however, they did not locate a firearm inside the theater”. Currently, detectives are “follow up on all investigative leads with hopes of identifying the person(s) responsible for this heinous crime.”
Anthony Barajas was a star soccer player at Mater Dei High with a large following on social media. Rylee Goodrich was a volleyball player who just graduated high school. She was set to attend Grand Canyon University in a STEM program on a scholarship.
“It’s a mystery that I hope people can come forth and talk about and report so that we can get to the bottom of it. There needs to be justice”, Goodrich’s cousin Ashley Cole said to ABC7.
Police are also asking anyone in Corona, CA, to come forward if they were in the theater, another theater in the complex, or in the shopping center between 9:00 and 11:45 PM that night. They provided an anonymous tip line and the email & phone number of the chief investigator: “951-817-5839 or Senior Detective Slaven Neagu at 951-739-4916 or email him at Slaven.Neagu@CoronaCA.gov.”
Arrest
Two hours ago, an arrest was announced in this dark crime investigation. Joseph Jimenez, 20, was taken into custody last night and charged with murder, attempted murder, and robbery. He’s currently being held on a $2 million bond.
The arrest came after the ballistics on bullets found on the crime scene were found to match Jiminez’s gun. However, there’s no known motive for Jiminez’s dark actions at this time. Police further stated they believe the attack appeared to have been unprovoked.
Yesterday, the Regal Cinema remained closed so authorities could conduct their investigation. Deadline obtained the following statement from Regal: “We have received confirmation of an incident at our Corona Crossings theatre last night. We are currently working with the local authorities regarding the investigation. Our primary concern is for the safety and security of our guests and staff.”
The Forever Purge
In a stunning, unfortunate coincidence, the movie that was showing on the night of this grizzly deed was the final installment of a franchise all about crime. As Purge fans already know, The Purge franchise is about a dystopian U.S. where crime is legal for twelve hours once a year.
The stated reason for allowing this dark crime spree is both to curb the homeless population and to allow Americans one night to satisfy their dark, beastly urges to commit violence. The franchise takes us from the first Purge movie, where a family has to defend themselves from marauders after a homeless man in their house, to the election cycle where The Purge began.
During Tuesday’s investigation, media outlets noted that the theater appeared to have removed The Forever Purge from its schedule.
