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Canada: Man stabbed trying to stop laser pointer at movie

22-year-old Zachary Ebel described in court how he was punched and stabbed at an Ottawa cinema, after complaining about a laser pointer being used to disrupt the movie. The attack took place April 13, 2007.

Ebel said his attackers were part of the same group of young men who had been disrupting the movie which he and his friends had gone to see. One member of the group had been waving a laser pointer at the screen, Ebel said.

“I asked them ‘who has the laser pointer, come on guys,’” said Ebel. “It was at that point someone stood up and asked me if I had a problem. I said, just stop using the laser pointer’ and walked back to my seat.”

After the movie, one of the group asked him to go outside. When Ebel refused, somewhere between 6 and 15 young men began punching him. He was stabbed three times after tackling two of six men who were kicking his best friend as he lay curled in the fetal position on the floor.

From the Ottawa Citizen