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Ryan John Lewis, Vancouver man arrested for making ‘Dark Knight’ shooting threat

Authorities in the United States have openly discussed their fears of copycat crimes following the Colorado 'Dark Knight' shootings that killed 12 people and wounded 58 others last month.

This past week, police in Vancouver were faced with a potential copycat of their own.

According to CKNW Radio, police arrested 34-year-old Ryan John Lewis on August 1, after he posted several death threats on his Facebook account to carry out a mass shooting similar to the crimes allegedly committed by James Holmes.

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Police say Lewis posted that he was in favour of the Colorado shooting and that he was going to repeat the same behaviour in the Vancouver area.

Lewis's Facebook account has since been removed and the entries have been deleted. Lewis lives with his mother who was not at home during the arrest and police are not saying whether they found any weapons inside.

The accused made his second court appearance Wednesday and told CTV News he was embarrassed by his actions and never intended to act out his online threats.

"I kind of expected something after saying that. I went overboard. I've got a bad temper and was venting on Facebook," Lewis said.

CTV notes Lewis was released on $1,000 bail on conditions which include not accessing the Internet, not being in possession of weapons and receiving a psychiatric assessment.

His next court appearance is scheduled for August 22.

[ Related: Psychiatrist 'alerted others' about Batman shooter ]