3 held in ‘Dark Knight’ scares

At least three men accused of making threats during or after watching the new Batman movie have been arrested in separate incidents in the US, underscoring filmgoers’ anxieties and heightened security in the wake of a deadly mass shooting at a Colorado cinema showing the film.

In the state of Maine, a man was arrested when he told authorities he was on his way to shoot a former employer a day after watching The Dark Knight Rises, police said.

Timothy Courtois of Biddeford, Maine, had been stopped for speeding, and a police search of his car found an AK-47, four handguns, ammunition, and news clippings about the shooting that left 12 people dead last Friday.

Former graduate student James Holmes, aged 24, is accused of opening fire in a cinema in Aurora, Denver. The shooting injured 58 people.

Courtois said he had seen The Dark Knight Rises on Saturday, although police have not confirmed whether he actually saw the film.

“I guess we’re taking everything at face value,” state police lieutenant Kevin Donovan said. “It’s very scary.”

Police searched Courtois’s home later on Sunday and found a machine gun, several other guns, and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

“We don’t know what his true intentions were,” said Steve McCausland, spokes-man for the Department of Public Safety. “Based on the arsenal that was confiscated, we brought in our counterparts from the FBI and ATF to assist with the investigation.”

Courtois was charged with speeding and possession of a concealed weapon.

In southern California, a man at a Sunday afternoon showing of the film was arrested after witnesses said he made threats and alluded to the Aurora shooting when the movie didn’t start.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were called to a cinema in Norwalk after moviegoers said 52-year-old Clark Tabor shouted: “I should go off like in Colorado.” They said he then asked: “Does anybody have a gun?”

Moviegoers in Sierra Visa, Arizona, meanwhile, panicked when a man who appeared intoxicated was confronted during a showing of the film. The Cochise County Sheriff said it caused “mass hysteria” and about 50 people fled the cinema.

Off-duty border patrol agents tackled Michael William Borboa, 27, who had a backpack with him, according to the Arizona Daily Star. Authorities said it contained an empty alcohol container and a half-empty moonshine bottle.

Borboa was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct, and threatening and intimidating.

Despite some jitters over the horrific shooting, moviegoers around the country still flocked to see the film. Warner Bros. reported that it brought in $160.9m over the weekend, making it the third highest opening weekend ever, after The Avengers and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2.