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Louisiana Movie Theater Shooting Ends in Tragedy
On Thursday night at the Grand 16 Theater in Lafayette, Louisiana a crowd of about 100 people gathered to watch a screening of Amy Schumer’s comedy film “Trainwreck.” As the lights dimmed down and previews ended, instead of being able to enjoy the movie, the crowd had to escape the theater to stay alive. Before the movie could begin, a man stood up and opened fire on the audience. The gunman has been identified as 59-year-old John Russel Houser. According to Police Chief Jim Craft, Houser fired at least thirteen rounds. Mayci Breaux and Jillian Johnson were fatally shot and nine others were injured. Those injured ranged in ages from their late teens to their 60’s. By the time four officers entered the theater, the gunman had shot and killed himself.
Shooter in Louisiana theater shooting identified as 59-year-old John Houser http://t.co/86veVCQsRK pic.twitter.com/XjC5197Ebd
— WTKR NewsChannel 3 (@WTKR3) July 24, 2015
Col. Michael Edmonson of the Louisiana State Police described the shooter as a “drifter.” “He was a guy that was a drifter … that just happened to be in this theater and took two beautiful lives,” Edmonson stated. “Don’t lose sight of the fact that these 2 individuals had a vision, had a name, had a future. It wasn’t to die as they did horribly in this theater here.” Authorities say Houser, who is orginally from Alabama, had been staying in Lafayette since early July at a Motel 6 where they found wigs and glasses–“disguises basically,” Craft said. Keifer Sanders, who was nearby the auditorium, stated that the movie theater was calm before the gunman opened fire. “There was no argument, nothing going on at all. And a guy just stood up and started opening fire,” Sanders said. “The guy was just kind of at ease, just standing there, just shooting.” The shooter’s motive is still unknown. Craft said:
This kind of stuff just leaves you wondering. Why would a guy come into a theater in this city — we have a relatively safe city — and just, you know, randomly start shooting people? It’s hard to figure out. He’s deceased, so we may now never know.
There were some indications that Houser had consumed alcohol, but there were no indications of drug use. Craft also stated the gunman had a criminal record for arson and selling alcohol to a minor, but his record had been clean for the last 10 to 15 years. Authorities checked suspicious packages inside Houser’s car and the movie theater, but nothing was found. This shooting happened only days after the conviction of James Holmes for the Aurora, Colorado, theater shooting in 2012 that left 70 people wounded and 12 dead. Theaters began to increase their security after the Aurora shooting, but for the most part movie theaters are still very lax on security and people can walk in and out without being questioned. “Whenever we hear about these senseless acts of violence, it makes us both furious and sad at the same time,” Governor Bobby Jindal said. “This is an awful night for Lafayette, this is an awful night for Louisiana, this is an awful night for the United States. But we will get through this.”
Amy Schumer, star of “Trainwreck” sent out her condolences to the people involved.
My heart is broken and all my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Louisiana.
— Amy Schumer (@amyschumer) July 24, 2015
It’s horrifying to constantly hear of so many acts of violence occurring in the United States. People should not have to wonder if they will make it back alive from the movies or church, but it seems like incidents of those sort happen constantly now. Movie theaters may start checking people’s belongings and clothing for any weapons, and we may see increased security at different venues. If that’s what it takes to prevent more incidents like this moving forward, it may be worth it.
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