ABC News Apologizes for Wrongly Linking Suspected Dark Knight Shooter to Tea Party
Brian Ross
ABC News has apologized for wrongly linking the suspected gunman who killed 12 people at a Dark Knight Rises showing to the Tea Party.
After police arrested suspect James Holmes, ABC News correspondent Brian Ross noted during the network's coverage Friday morning that a Colorado Tea Party website listed a Jim Holmes as a member. "Now we don't know if this is the same Jim Holmes, but this is Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado," he said.
ABC later released a statement on its website explaining that the report was unfounded. "An earlier ABC News broadcast report suggested that a Jim Holmes of a Colorado Tea Party organization might be the suspect, but that report was incorrect," the statement read. "ABC News and Brian Ross apologize for the mistake, and for disseminating that information before it was properly vetted."
The Dark Knight Rises shooting: Gunman kills 12, wounds 59 at Colorado theater
Ross also apologized for his report, saying: "An earlier report that I had was incorrect that he was connected with the Tea Party in fact that's a different Jim Holmes. He was not connected to the Tea Party and what we do know about him is he is a 24-year-old white male who went to Colorado for a PhD."
Holmes is currently in police custody under suspicion of killing at least 12 people and injuring 59 others during the shooting.