Canadian allegedly threatened massacre

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NORTH VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- A Canadian man allegedly threatened to carry out a mass shooting on the scale of the one that left 12 dead and 58 wounded in Colorado last month, police say.

Ryan John Lewis, 32, of North Vancouver, British Columbia, was arrested Aug. 1, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Lewis "made significant death threats" on his Facebook page "to commit crimes similar to the recent shootings in Colorado."

The CBC said Lewis is being allowed to remain free provided he stay off the Internet and meet several other conditions.

"The police are committed to keeping our communities safe and take these types of threats very seriously," RCMP Cpl. Richard De Jong said.

"Social media is a powerful tool and can be used for good or bad. Comments and postings are not private and for public safety reasons, are taken seriously."

James Holmes is in custody in the massacre at an Aurora, Colo., theater showing "The Dark Knight Rises."