Renton theater shooting victim: ‘Can’t believe it happened to me’

Michelle Mallari holds a press conference at her lawyer’s office. Mallari was shot while watching a movie in Renton. (Greg Gilbert / The Seattle Times)

Seattle Times

January 29, 2016
By Jennifer Sullivan
Twitter @SeattleSullivan
jensullivan@seattletimes.com

Michelle Mallari, who was wounded by gunfire last week in a Renton movie theater, said she didn’t realize she had been hit by a bullet until she reached the lobby.

Michelle Mallari and her boyfriend were watching a movie at a Renton theater last week when she heard a “bang” and felt a searing pain in her shoulder.

Mallari said she grabbed Richard Arreola and yelped in pain before the two ran out of the theater. It wasn’t until they reached the lobby that they realized she had been shot.

As blood poured from Mallari’s wound, the two yelled for help, asking the few theater employees they saw to call police and report the shooting. Theater staff were slow to react, Mallari said Friday.

“I was screaming, asking for an ambulance,” she said during a news conference at her Seattle lawyer’s office.