After Colorado shootings, 3 arrested in ‘Dark Knight’ incidents
At least three people have been arrested around the country in incidents connected to screenings of “The Dark Knight Rises,†authorities say.
The arrests come amid fears of possible copycat attacks in the wake of Friday’s shooting rampage at a midnight screening of the film in Aurora, Colo. Twelve people were killed and 58 were injured in that attack, and law enforcement agencies in numerous states have since stepped up security at theaters showing the latest Batman film.
In California, a 52-year-old man was arrested Sunday evening after he allegedly shouted threats about a gun and Colorado at a Norwalk theater showing of the “The Dark Knight Rises,†authorities said.
Clark Tabor is accused of grabbing his cellphone inside the theater and shouting: “I should go off like in Colorado†and “Does anyone have a gun?†the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
“Witnesses said they were afraid the suspect was going to remove a gun from his backpack and shoot them,†the statement said.
The suspect was reportedly seen with a backpack, but no weapon was found, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
In Maine, authorities seized what they described as an arsenal of weapons from a man who told investigators he had attended a Saturday screening of “The Dark Knight Rises†in Saco with a loaded gun in his backpack.
The man, Timothy Courtois, 49, was stopped for speeding Sunday morning, according to a statement released by state police. A search of his car yielded an AK-47 assault weapon, four handguns and several boxes of ammunition. Additional weapons, including a machine gun and thousands of rounds of ammunition, were found at his home, the statement said.
Courtois allegedly told authorities that he was on his way to Derry, N.H., to shoot a former employer. Clippings about the Colorado massacre were found in his car, state police said.
In Arizona, a 27-year-old man was arrested after an altercation in a Sierra Vista theater showing the movie. Michael William Borboa, 27, was apparently yelling during a Friday screening and, when confronted, reached into a large backpack, causing about 50 people to run out of the theater, said Carol Capas, a spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office.
Off-duty Border Patrol agents tackled the suspect and handed him over to authorities, Capas said. The backpack contained alcohol bottles, but no weapon, she said.
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