Three Separate 'Dark Knight' Arrests Linked to Create Fear: The Effect of Terrorism?
In the aftermath of the Colorado shooting, a number of stories continue to be linked to the incident further increasing the concerns of many. The most recent links however, may have little to do with the Colorado incident and are causing unnecessary fear.
The most recent report has stated that three men have been arrested in "separate 'Dark Knight' incidents." The pairing of the three cases could cause fear in some, who believe that copycat criminals will attempt to mimic the actions of James Holmes, who left 12 dead after a shooting rampage in a Colorado movie theater. The news arrests however, do not necessarily have strong links to the film.
Michael William Borboa, 27, was arrested in Arizona for disorderly conduct when he the allegedly drunk man was confronted for his drunken state. At least 50 people fled the theater in fear that the situation would escalate.
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While the incident reflects the fact that many people's nerves are heightened following the tragedy in Colorado, neither violence nor "The Dark Knight" was relevant to the case.
In Maine a man was arrested for threatening to shoot a former employee a day after he watched "The Dark Knight." Although the man had viewed the movie, there was no public statement that the movie had influenced his plans to murder the estranged employee.
The most concerning incident occurred in Los Angeles when 52-year-old Clark Tabor threatened other movie goers.
"I should go off like in Colorado," Tabor said according to Fox News. "They said he then asked: 'Does anybody have a gun?'"
Although Tabor was arrested, he was not armed and did not appear to have any actual plans to open fire in the theater.
While the Colorado shooting has not been considered an act of terrorism, Dr. Anthony Lemieux, a professor at Emory University's medical school, has stated that the event still has a similar effect according Fox Atlanta News.
"It shows people that there are these potentials for this type of harm to visit us at seemingly any time, at any place. And so I think that's one of the things that's going to go more broadly," Lemieux said. "I think it gives us an opportunity, as a public, as a general society to think more about how resilient we can be in the face of these kinds of tragedies and attacks."
