Plan B Forum

Lafayette: A gunman fatally shot at least one person and injured eight others at a cinema in Lafayette, Louisiana, before taking his own life on Thursday, according to police and local media.

NBC News reported that one person died and eight others were wounded at the Grand Theatre in Lafayette before the gunman died.

Those reports could not immediately be confirmed by Reuters, but Lafayette police said in a tweet that they were "working a shooting at the Grand Theater on Johnston Street" and that it involved multiple victims.

The local Advertiser newspaper reported that the gunfire broke out during a 7pm showing of the film "Train Wreck."


Witness Katie Domingue told the paper that the gunman was an older white man who stood up in the cinema and began shooting.

"He wasn't saying anything. I didn't hear anybody screaming either," Ms Domingue said.

"Prayers for Lafayette at Grand Theater. Talking to state police colonel about shooting in Lafayette," Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said in a tweet.

Lafayette is a city of some 120,000 people located roughly 90 km southwest of Baton Rouge.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/lafayette-l ... z3glx1aiGT

Sue U wrote:It's simply marvelous that our Constitution guarantees us ready access to firearms. Our well regulated militias must be the envy of the world. We are all so much safer as citizens of this great nation thanks to the Second Amendment. God bless the NRA!

Report is now three dead, seven injured.

liberty wrote: Why do you care; the fewer rednecks the better?

Move along folk, no story here.

While only about 1% of all murders nationally, mass killings still happen frequently. The FBI counted 172 cases of mass killings between 2006 and 2011. That does not include some large states such as Florida, for example. Poor reporting by police agencies to the FBI also means some mass killings were left out, while others that don’t meet the standard were included.

Erroneous and excluded cases leave FBI data with [only] a 57% accuracy rate.

Mass Killings Happen About Every Two Weeks

77% of mass killings involve a gun.

NEARLY 3 OUT OF 4 OF THE GUNS INVOLVED WERE HANDGUNS

In retrospect Sandy Hook marked the end of the US gun control debate. Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over.

Louisiana movie theater gunman identified as 59-year-old 'drifter'
by KABC – Los Angeles 2:34 mins

The Lafayette movie theater gunman was identified as 59-year-old John Russel Houser, described as a 'drifter' who once lived in Alabama.

LAFAYETTE, La. (Reuters) - A 59-year-old man who had been committed to a hospital for psychiatric care was identified by authorities on Friday as the gunman who fatally shot two people in a rampage at a crowded movie theater in central Louisiana before turning the gun on himself as police closed in.

LAFAYETTE, La. — The picture that emerged Friday of the gunman who killed two women and wounded nine other people in a theater here was one filled with instability and rage, from a history of mental illness, to vandalizing and booby-trapping a house, to venting his fury at women’s rights, minorities and liberals. [NY Times]

[Current Fox News] The man who opened fire in a Louisiana movie theater Thursday night, killing two patrons before turning the gun on himself when police blocked his escape, was a “drifter” from Alabama who had a collection of disguises in his motel room and a trick license plate on his 20-year-old Lincoln Continental, police said Friday.

Lafayette Police identified John Russel Houser, 59 as the gunman who fired into a crowd of 100 people at the Grand 16 Theater during a screening of Amy Schumer’s “Trainwreck.” The gunfire killed Jillian Johnson, 33, a well-known local businesswoman and Mayci Breaux, 21, an employee at a fashionable woman’s boutique. Nine others were injured in the shooting, including reportedly Breaux's boyfriend.

“He’s kind of a drifter,” Police Chief Jim Craft told a news conference.

Details about the gunman quickly emerged from the press conference and online postings believed to be Houser's, painting a picture of a troubled and erratic man who had described his occupation as “hustling.”

The gunman who killed two people and injured several others at a Louisiana cinema had a history of mental health issues, according to court documents.

John Houser, 59, fired a dozen rounds from a handgun at a film screening in Lafayette before shooting himself.

Documents seen by the AP news agency show his family won a protective order against him in 2008 due to "various acts of violence" towards them.

His wife, who filed for divorce in March, said he had become "volatile".

Hours before the latest US shooting, President Barack Obama told the BBC that gun law reform had been his "greatest frustration".

Lafayette police described Houser as a "drifter" from Alabama who had been staying at nearby motel since the beginning of July. Wigs and other disguises were found inside his room.

Police chief Jim Craft said investigators believe he intended to flee rather than take his own life, but the quick police response forced him back into the building.

His motive is unclear but police said they were looking into online posts appearing to have been made by Houser in which he criticised the government and US media.

He did have a criminal history but it was "pretty old", Mr Craft added. It is unclear how he obtained his the semi-automatic .40-caliber handgun.

On Friday, an Alabama sheriff said Houser was denied a permit to carry a concealed weapon in 2006 because of a domestic violence complaint and a previous arrest for arson in nearby Columbus, Georgia.

Gob wrote:Always go to the BBC...

Long Run wrote:And, looking at all of the various sources that are moderately to very reliable, none of them have the take Sue got from the far left blogosphere.

bigskygal wrote:It should be as easy to get mental health services as it is to buy a gun.