The suspect reportedly carried a gun and a hatchet into the cinema in Antioch, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside Nashville, according to the local newspaper, citing police reports.

Don Aaron, a spokesman for Metro Nashville police, said an officer had gone into the cinema and was fired on. The officer shot back and then withdrew.

A specially trained police team entered the cinema, there was an exchange of fire and the suspect was found dead.

Two backpacks, one the shooter was carrying and one left behind in the theater, are being examined, according to the local newspaper.

A fire department spokesman said three people were treated for exposure to pepper spray. One of them also had a superficial wound which could have been caused by a hatchet.

The shooting took place during a screening of "Mad Max."

The incident occurred less than two weeks after a gunman opened fire in a cinema in Lafayette, Louisiana, killing two women. Nine others were injured before the gunman took his own life.

jm/cmk (AP, AFP)