US military has warned about possible mass shootings at Joker screenings

The US Army has issued a warning to military personnel about the potential for violence at screenings of the controversial new film, Joker.

The US Army has issued a warning about the possibility of mass shootings at upcoming screenings of the highly anticipated film, Joker, according to a new report.

In a widely distributed email on September 18 marked “For official use only,” officials reminded service members to “identify two escape routes” and to “run, hide, fight” in the event of a shooting, Gizmodo reported.

“Run if you can,” the message said. “If you’re stuck, hide (also known as ‘sheltering in place’), and stay quiet. If a shooter finds you, fight with whatever you can.”

Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker. Picture: Supplied

According to the New York Post, the Army confirmed to Gizmodo that it issued the warning in light of social media posts from “incel” extremists that were flagged by the FBI.

The email to service members explained that incels “idolise the Joker character, the violent clown from the Batman series, admiring his depiction as a man who must pretend to be happy, but eventually fights back against bullies.”

The late Heath Ledger’s performance as the madman has become iconic. Picture: Supplied

Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker. Picture: Niko Tavernise

An Army spokesman said the message was routine.

“We want our workforce to be prepared and diligent on personal safety both inside the workplace and out,” the rep said.

It comes as Sandy Phillips, the mother of one of the victims of the 2012 Aurora shooting, in which shooter James Holmes killed 12 people and injured 70 during a screening of The Dark Knight, said her issue with Joker is both visceral and personal.

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James Holmes shot and killed 12 people, injuring 70 others at a Colorado cinema in 2012. Picture: AFP

“I don’t need to see a picture of [James Holmes]; I just need to see a Joker promo and I see a picture of the killer,” Phillips told The Hollywood Reporter.

“My worry is that one person who may be out there — and who knows if it is just one — who is on the edge, who is wanting to be a mass shooter, may be encouraged by this movie. And that terrifies me.”

In another memo, top officials of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division said it received “credible” intelligence from law enforcement in Texas about “disturbing and very specific chatter” on the dark web about “the targeting of an unknown movie theatre during the release.”

Sandy Phillips, right, who lost her 24-year-old daughter Jessica Ghawi in the 2012 Aurora massacre, is concerned the film will encourage shootings. Picture: AP

Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix in the title role, premieres on October 4 — and has already sparked concerns of movie theatre violence.

In 2012 in Aurora, Holmes set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple guns, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others, 58 of them from gunfire. It was the deadliest shooting in Colorado since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999.

It’s often been repeated that Holmes was inspired by the Joker, a claim that primarily rests on statements the killer reportedly made to police after the fact in which he said he “was the Joker.”

Daniel Oates, Aurora’s chief of police at the time, told The Hollywood Reporter, that “there is no evidence” the Holmes ever said that.

Joaquin Phoenix in a scene from the movie Joker. Picture: Supplied

— with the New York Post