Drudge, Breitbart.com, and ABC on the Dark Knight Rises Theater Shooting: #Fail

At least 12 people were killed in a mass shooting at a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado. The name of the suspected gunman, now in custody, is James E. Holmes. What we know about him this morning: He’s a white male, mid-20s, with an apartment in Aurora.

Here’s Matt Drudge tweeting a thinly sourced Joel Pollak report at Breitbart.com: 

The James Holmes tracked down by Breitbart.com is 25 years old and registered at an address in La Plata County—roughly a six-hour drive from the alleged shooter’s apartment, according to Google Maps.

And now, here’s ABC News’ Brian Ross earlier today, irresponsibly speculating on the shooter’s possible Tea Party link (ABC later withdrew the claim and apologized):

There are a lot of people in Denver and Aurora with the legal name of James/Jim Holmes.

Dozens of people are injured. At least 12 people are dead. The body count could rise. Even the 2012 attack dogs are taking a siesta from the partisan mudslinging in the wake of the tragedy. If you’re going to publish a story about an alleged mass murderer’s politics, you had better get it right.

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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