Police: Man Took Assault Rifle To Batman Movie In Maine
PORTLAND, Maine (CBS) - A 49-year-old Maine man told police he was carrying a weapon while attending a screening of the latest Batman movie Saturday night.
Timothy Courtois, of Biddeford, Maine, was pulled over for speeding on Sunday. He told police he was on his way to shoot a former employer in Derry, New Hampshire hours after he saw "The Dark Knight Rises" at a theater in Saco, Maine.
Courtois allegedly told police he was carrying a loaded gun in his backpack while at the movie.
Authorities found an AK-47 assault rifle, four handguns and several boxes of ammunition in Courtois's car. They also found recent news clippings of last week's Colorado movie theater shooting.
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During a search of Courtois's apartment, police say they discovered several more weapons, including a machine gun and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Police said Courtois was driving 112 miles per hour before he was pulled over.
In Biddeford, where Courtois has rented a second-floor apartment for several years, neighbors said he was a quiet loner. "How does a person like that get a collection like like this in just a matter of months? There's no red flag?," asked Roger Guay, who lives next door.
Another neighbor noticed he got a new car the day after the Colorado shooting. "That was a big deal, a big shiny new black Mustang. In hindsight, it's like, 'wow'," said Jeanne Mailhiot. The police lieutenant who pulled him over said Courtois told him he wanted to install a police-style mounted camera in the car.
Neighbors say local police visited Courtois's home at least three times recently. State Police confirm Courtois was known to local police, but not criminally.
At the Saco movie theater where Courtois told police he smuggled an assault rifle into Saturday's Batman showing, there are now signs on the door forbidding backpacks.
"I was going to stay home and wait until it comes out online," said one woman, who's brother convinced her to go. Another couple hesitated on the way in. "We're getting kind of weirded out and on edge and I don't know if we'll actually go watch it."
A man appeared in court Monday in Colorado to face charges he killed 12 people and wounded 58 others in a mass shooting at a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" last Friday.
WBZ-TV's Christina Hager contributed to this report.
