Theatre Shooting In Lafayette Leaves Two Dead And Nine Injured; Police Reveals Identity of Victims And Gunman

A 58-year-old man has opened fire inside a crowded movie theatre in Lafayette, Louisiana on Thursday. Police reported that the man killed at least two people, while leaving as many as nine injured before shooting himself to death.

The incident took place when people had gathered to watch the 7 p.m. show of the film Trainwreck by Amy Schumer, which happened to take place three years after a similar massacre during a screening of the Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, occurred in Aurora, Colorado, leaving 12 dead and at least a dozen injured.

According to Huffington post, at a news conference held on Friday morning, police revealed that the gunman was John Russel Houser from Alabama and failed to understand his possible connection that led him to shoot. They described him as a "drifter" who resided in a motel. On investigating it, police said they found wigs and disguises.

Poilce further confirmed that among the two victims, one was Mayci Breaux, a 21-year-old student at Louisiana State University, according to her Facebook page and the other one was Jillian Johnson, a 33-year-old co-owner of Red Arrow Workshop, a gift boutique she ran with her husband, Jason Brown, in Lafayette, according to a LinkedIn profile believed to be her.

Jim Craft, the Lafayette Police Chief confirmed that the victims were already dead as a result of the openfire before he shot himself. He said, among those injured, some suffered critical injuries while others were in better conditions.

Sometime later, Mr. Craft said that Russel Houser had past records of criminal activities, yet nothing could be done as he was already dead. Sniffer dogs those were brought to the scene to investigate found out a suspicious bag inside the movie hall and a suspect’s car was also investigated upon their signal. Currently, the suspected car has been under scrutiny by a robot.

Comedian Schumer, on hearing the news of the shooting, tweeted saying, “ My heart is broken and all my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Louisiana. ” According to Sydney Morning Herald, one of the witnesses, named Katie Domingue, confirmed that the white gunman was old and suddenly started firing in the cinema. "He wasn't saying anything. I didn't hear anybody screaming either," Ms. Domingue said.

It has been a matter of concern as mass shootings increase day by day in most parts of the world. Recently, a shooting in South Carolina Church left nine church members dead, while 37 people were dead in Tunisia Beach massacre. Meanwhile, the United States has witnessed several other mass shootings within a span of two months. The U.S. President Barack Obama expressed his frustration over the failure of passing “common-sense gun safety laws” in States, BBC reported.

Lafayette, which is located roughly 90kms southwest of Baton Rouge, is home to some 120,000 people.

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