Heath Ledger 's father has spoken to the Australian press about last week's tragic shooting in Denver (Friday, July 20, 2012), at a Dark Knight Rises cinema screening. Following reports that the gunman, James Holmes, had dyed his hair and was calling himself 'The Joker' on the evening of the incident, Kim Ledger has urged people not to make a connection between the fatal shootings and the character that was played by his son, Heath, in The Dark Knight. Heath passed away in 2008, following a reported drug overdose.
"We can't blame Heath or the [Joker] character," Mr. Ledger told Australia's Herald Sun. "It's fictitious. I don't know what this does to the character. I think that's the least of my worries. I'd be more worried about the families and other people involved in the tragedy rather than anything else.'' The Australian then insisted that America should be assessing its gun laws. "It's terrible-the whole circumstances,'' he stressed. "The guy's obviously a nut case. He has obviously lost it. I think what America should be doing is restricting the availability of ammunition or revisiting their gun laws-that's what they should be doing."
Twelve people were killed by Holmes' shooting, which took place at a movie theatre in Aurora, Denver, at a special midnight screening of Dark Knight Rises. Out of respect for those involved, Warner Bros. cancelled the Paris premiere of the movie, which was scheduled to take place on Friday night.