The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have warned law enforcement officials about potential mass shootings after multiple threats emerged online, CNN reports.
What happened: Federal authorities wrote in a Joint Intelligence Bulletin that the FBI doesn’t have any information of a “specific or credible threats to particular locations or venues.” But the FBI has received threats on social media about violence at a screening since May.
Context: There has been a heightened sense of worry over “Joker” screenings during its promotional run, much of which can be attributed to the film’s violent nature and the 2012 mass shooting at the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater during “The Dark Knight Rises.” The shooting led to 12 deaths and 70 injuries.
New threat: In the FBI and DHS bulletin statement, the two agencies say that the recent threats reference the Aurora shooting.
“The FBI, DHS, and (National Counterterrorism Center) remain concerned that the volume of threatening language may lead to lone offender violence,” the bulletin says, according to CNN.
Some of the “Joker” threats reference the incel community and the “clowncel” community, according to CNN. Incels “believe they are denied sexual attention as a result of social and political movements and frequently commiserate on online message boards,” CNN reports.
More concerns: Police departments in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles are all preparing to monitor the screenings this weekend in preparation for potential attacks.