‘Joker’ shooting scare in US state of Maryland

A man calling himself a ‘joker’ is being held in the US state of Maryland after threatening to open fire at his former workplace, according to police.

The 28-year-old had just been dismissed.

Police say thousands of rounds of ammunition and a large number of firearms were found at his apartment.

“He made significant threats to coming back and harming people at the business,” said Mark Magaw, police chief of Prince George’s County in Maryland.

“In fact, he said: ‘I’m a joker and I’m going to load my guns and blow everyone up.’”

The scare comes amid funerals for the victims of this month’s shootings in Colorado.

Suspect James Holmes, who dyed his hair bright orange, allegedly referred to himself as The Joker – Batman’s comic book arch-enemy.

A total of 12 people died and dozens more were injured when a gunman opened fire at a cinema near Denver during a midnight screening of the new Batman film.

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