The shooting that took place on Christmas at the Carmike Wynnsong theater in west Mobile filled a sold out cinema with fear, many voluntarily evacuating and dozens screaming as several shots rang out that night.

Mobile Police Chief James Barber said that a crowd of 400 teenagers were gathered in the parking lot before the 8 p.m. call for police backup.

At least half a dozen officers were already on scene, trying to get the kids to go home, he said.

Those officers called for backup and were able to disperse about 200 kids.

An hour later, the gunshots rang out in the parking lot.

Two 14-year-olds were shot in the leg, an 18-year-old adult was shot in the leg, hip and abdomen and another adult was shot in the abdomen as well.

Barber said that at this time, police believe they were innocent victims.

He spoke severely of parents who dropped their kids off unsupervised at the theater, saying children as young as eight-years-old were on scene after 9 o'clock at night.

17-year-old Johnny Vail is currently a person of interest, a teen that is already in jail on unrelated gun charges.

Johnny Vail was charged with discharging a gun into a building and a vehicle in two incidents that occurred in Oct. according to court records.

He was picked up by police Dec. 27, two days after the theater shooting.

Barber said he has not been charged in the theater shooting yet, but Vail was at the theater when the incident occurred.

A second shooter has not yet been ruled out.

Vail was one of hundreds of underage teens at the theater that night.

"Many were dropped off by parents without a ride home," said Barber.

That made dispersing the crowd challenging.

"It was "irresponsible of parents to drop off their kids," said Barber.

He said that he doesn't have a problem with teens going to the movies on Christmas, but these kids didn't have a ticket, nor were they there to see a movie.

Barber cited last year's report of shots fired at a similar gathering at the Hollywood theater near McGowin Park, blaming social media for the ability to gather a great deal of teens at one time.

Now, the focus is on preventing violence in large gatherings in the future.

"We are looking at what we can do," Barber said of talks with the city council and the mayor's office. The city council has called for an evaluation of procedures involving large crowds.

Police are also looking at Wynnsong's procedures regarding shootings. The theater did not notify patrons of the incident.

Barber said his biggest concern regarding the incident was how easy it is for youths to get guns.

"People have guns in their homes, cars get broken into," said Barber.

He said the police force is making every effort to educate young people about the dangers of guns while they're in school.

"They're using guns to resolve conflicts," said Barber.

Anyone with further information is asked to call Mobile Police at 251-208-7211, CrimeStoppers at 251-208-7000, or text Mobile Police Intel at CRIMES (274637) and include the keyword "CRIME411."