Three people, including the shooter, are now dead after a shooting at the Grand Theater on Johnston Street.
Brooks David of Louisiana State Police says the shooter was a 58-year-old male white male.
Lafayette Police Chief Robert Craft tells KLFY that the shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting happened during a showing of the movie ‘Trainwreck”
Photo Gallery: Grand Theater Shooting Scene
Nine people were injured in the shooting. Three of the victims are being at treated at Lafayette General Hospital, three are being treated at Lourdes Hospital, and two are being treated at Acadiana General Hospital.
Investigators say the shooting appears to be random. The shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. at the Grand Theater on Johnston Street.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is currently visiting victims and families at Lafayette General.
» Gov. Bobby Jindal visited with a pair of teachers who were in the theater when the shooting started. One teacher was shot as she threw herself upon the other. She then pulled the fire alarm.
The injured teachers have been identified as Jena Meaux and Ali Martin from Iberia Parish, via a Go Fund Me page set up by educators’ groups.
» Col. Mike Edmonson, Louisiana State Police, said late Thursday that investigators would work in the theater throughout the night collecting evidence.
He said some bodies remained inside the theater, as did items of interest that police dogs had “hit on.” They included a backpack.
He said although the suspected shooter was dead, investigators still needed to process the scene to determine what happened.
The investigation would include a review of the shooter’s background and his family history, he said.
» Former Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Brown told The Daily Advertiser The Grand Theatre is part of Southern Theatres. The company is headed by his brother-in-law, George Solomon of New Orleans, who was on his way to the scene Thursday night.
Brown, who was on the scene of the theater, said it would be closed for the indefinite future.
“He’s devastated, obviously,” Brown said.
» At 10:33, KATC reported that police were investigating a bomb threat at Greenbriar Condos on Doucet Road, across the street from the theater. The threat caused media to be pushed back from the area. Haz-Mat crews were responding.
» Unconfirmed reports indicated that Aries Marine CEO Bo Ramsay and his wife Gerri were among the wounded. Bo Ramsay was reportedly shot in the leg, and his wife grazed by a bullet. Neither injury was considered life-threatening.
President Barack Obama has admitted that his failure to pass “common sense gun safety laws” in the US is the greatest frustration of his presidency.
In an interview with the BBC, Mr Obama said it was “distressing” not to have made progress on the issue “even in the face of repeated mass killings”.
He vowed to keep trying, but the BBC’s North America editor Jon Sopel said the president did not sound very confident.
However, Mr Obama said race relations had improved during his presidency.
Hours after the interview, a gunman opened fire at a cinema in the US state of Louisiana, killing two people and injuring several others before shooting himself.
In a wide-ranging interview, President Obama also said:
He is confident the Iran nuclear deal will be passed by Congress
Syria needs a political solution in order to defeat the Islamic State group
He would speak “bluntly” against corruption and human rights violations in Kenya
He would defend his advocacy of gay rights following protests in Kenya
Despite racial tensions, the US is becoming more diverse and more tolerant
Mr Obama lands in Kenya later on Friday for his first visit since becoming president.
But with just 18 months left in power, he said gun control was the area where he has been “most frustrated and most stymied” since coming to power in 2009.
“If you look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism, it’s less than 100. If you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it’s in the tens of thousands,” Mr Obama said.
You can read the full transcript of the President’s Interview here. The President expressed frustration at race relations and guns in our country.
OBAMA: There will be. Look there was never a promise that race relations in America would be entirely resolved during my presidency or anybody’s presidency. I mean, this has been a running thread – and – and fault line in American life and American politics since its founding.
And so some of the most recent concerns around policing and mass incarcerations are legitimate and deserve intense attention. And I feel that we are moving the ball forward on those issues. What I will say is that – eight years – well, after eight years of my presidency, that children growing up during these eight years will have a different view of race relations in this country and what’s possible.
Black children, white children, Latino children. America is becoming more diverse, it’s becoming more tolerant as a consequence there’s more interactions between groups. There are going be tensions that arise. But if you look at my daughters’ generation, they have an attitude about race that’s entirely different than even my generation.
And that’s all for the good. You mentioned the issue of guns, that is an area where if you ask me where has been the one area where I feel that I’ve been most frustrated and most stymied it is the fact that the United States of America is the one advanced nation on earth in which we do not have sufficient common-sense, gun-safety laws. Even in the face of repeated mass killings.
And you know, if you look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism, it’s less than 100. If you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it’s in the tens of thousands. And for us not to be able to resolve that issue has been something that is distressing. But it is not something that I intend to stop working on in the remaining 18 months.
Anyone reading headlines these days know these are major problems.
Houser is also known as Rusty Houser, and apparently has a presence on social media as an outspoken conservative.
The last thing someone posting as Rusty Houser posted on Facebook was in 2013, when he linked to an article called “A woman’s place in the church and the weak church elder.”
He wrote, “The bible doesn’t ask me to like what it says, only to obey it. Death comes soon to the financially failing filth farm called the US.”
He only had two things liked on Facebook, among them “I hate liberals!”
Police called Houser a drifter and said he had only been in Lafayette since early July.
A man identified as John Russell Houser on Twitter tweeted only twice. He wrote, “If you don’t think the internet is censored, try reading a newspaper from a country that hates liberals the way I do,” in June 2013.
A little earlier, he wrote, “The Westboro Baptist Church may be the last real church in America members not brainwashed.”
A man identified as Rusty Houser also posted on the website http://www.politicalforum.com. His last post, dated March 27, 2013, refers to the state of the American and world economies and says, “It is true that the US is about to fall. I will be in fear at that time as will everyone else, but not in a fear which resembles that of the leaders of foolishness and the brainwashed that follow.Truth carries with it an understanding of death. Rather than live without it,I will take death.” [sic]
According to his LinkedIn profile, Houser claimed that he was an entrepreneur. The profile claims he owned and operated two bars and was a real estate developer. However, his last listed job is in 2006.
In addition, a John Russell Houser from Phenix City, Alabama, is listed as a member of a group called the Tea Party Nation. However, KATC could not confirm if this John Russell Houser is one in the same with the shooter.
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Repeal of the second amendment is the ultimate solution..
As they did in Australia after their mass shooting in 1996, they no longer allowed civilians to possess guns. Period. Everything we use today is digital…everyone is using a digital tech device RIGHT NOW to write a comment. 20 years ago we wrote letters to the editor. Stoves are digital so are home heating systems..Heck you can control EVERYTHING electronic in your home from 100 miles away…lock the doors, turn on the alarms etc. But guns?? No the NRA REFUSES to allow “smart guns.” Thousands of AR-15s are stolen out of warehouses in the Middle East. People carry guns in their locked glove compartments, on their bedside table..stolen…then used by criminals. They MAKE a digital gun that will ONLY fire if the person is wearing a thin bracelet that matches the guns’ sensors. You have to be holding the gun in that hand. EASY. If it is taken from you? They can’t use it on you…as it only works from a short distance. Someone steals your gun..they can’t use it! But the stupid people of the NRA won’t go for it. The NRA refuses computerization. Gun sales are done on paper receipts then sent to ATF! Doctors arent allowed to even ask if there are guns in the home…we can ask about lockingup poisons and medications but NOT guns! Someone is depressed? Can’t ask if there is a gun. 19,000 people commit suicde by gun every year in the USA. Suicide is usually a very impulsive act. If you had to wait 5 days for a back ground check for a permit…the person may get help. People say well you can commit suicde other ways! No. Overdoses only lead to death 2% of the time..guns? 90%. The ten% who make it? Usually shoot their face off or are brain damaged for the rest of their lives. If we just require digital..and have 100% background checks for EVERY gun purchased AND require insurance..just like the insurance you are required for a car..require safety lessons, class, and show that you know how to handle a gun..just some SIMPLE LAWS it would be a start. But old white people are terrified that Obama and the blacks are gonna take their gunz away!
As well if the U.S. government, the largest purchaser of firearms, would require that the only guns the government will purchase must be smart guns, the manufacturers would have to provide them or lose the contract.
Yup, one official from Louisiana said that they needed laws like the one in Georgia, where you can ignore a sign that says no guns allowed in theatre, and that every parent ought to carry one in movies to protect their families. Can you just see a shootout in the dark theatre? “Look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism. It’s less than 100. If you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it’s in the tens of thousands.”
I am so saddened that this kind of violence is now a everyday thing. And rather than talk about the men who are doing it, the republicans are on tv saying that it’s women tearing babies apart at Planned Parenthood that is to blame, because women don’t value life. That’s what was said on CNN Chris Cuomo, and he didn’t blink an eye, and allowed that kind of talk. Which we know often leads to men killing women. I see fire when I hear the republicans talk about PP.
It takes a special kind of dumb ass to think that you can curb violence by encouraging violence. The reality is just the opposite. The more people who own and carry weapons the more people will die. There is just no way around human nature, human incompetence and human narcissism. Add the angry/crazy right wing conservative in the mix and you have a very, very combustible situation. We’ve now had decades of asshats like Limbaugh, Hannity, etc. preaching hatred of liberals, AA’s, poor people etc. Nothing good was ever going to come out of promoting hatred and we are finally starting to see the results and it isn’t very pretty.
I think of it like this, if there’s a kid in the playground throwing rock at kids, do you give the other little kids rocks and say, wow, now I feel safe and they should be safer now! Not!
I hear you. Nobody seems to want to crack down on the hatred coming from the wing nuts.
And you are right, we have been flooded with this for years. It’s the same crap they have thrown at Hillary for years, and years. All the fraud all the lies, and all the damage, and they are on the rise, by having Bernie’s supporters join in. It’s not pretty, and it’s becoming a daily event.
Fannie, the two dead victims are women and the movie this creep bought a ticket for is one targeted to young women. I don’t believe for a moment that that’s random, but you can bet your sweet behind that it won’t be classified as a hate crime.
Sweet Sue, you nailed it. They will not claim this a hate crime against women. Hell, you see how the republicans spin their war against women, especially this morning on New Day. They are creating problems galore for us.
A “drifter” with sat silently in a movie theater for 20 minutes before shooting 11 other patrons in an
incident that was over in matter of seconds, witnesses and police in Louisiana said early Friday.
John ‘Rusty’ Houser, 59, was seated in the theater “just like everybody else” before firing 13 rounds, killing two people and wounding nine others with a .45-caliber handgun, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft told reporters. Houser later took his own life.
The two people he shot dead were identified Friday as local women Mayci Breaux, 21, and Jillian Johnson, 33. One of the wounded remained in critical condition, Craft said.
Houser, from Phenix City, Alabama, had been staying in a local Motel 6 in recent weeks. Police said the gunman was “estranged” from his family but there was no indication what drove him to carry out the killings.
Inspectors general for the State Department and intelligence agencies asked that the investigation be opened after finding that Clinton’s private account potentially contained hundreds of classified emails. The New York Times first reported the request to the Justice Department.
Clinton has said repeatedly she did not keep classified information on the account. Her campaign said in a statement that the emails in question were classified by the State Department retroactively, and thus Clinton violated no laws. It is unclear from the published findings of the inspectors general whether they found otherwise.
Elijah Cummings is on Hardball saying it’s just a pure move to decrease her political standing in the presidential race. He really laid it out as sleazy.
Yes! Listened to Judy Woodruff drone on about it just now. My wife got a little nervous when I said every trumped up story just makes me want to donate MORE! I won’t blow the rent, but I am motivated to donate regularly and often now. It’s on : )
Me too, I am sick of them doing the same thing again and again and getting away with it. Hillary was strong in reply, suggesting they must be suffering from the HEAT.
Court documents from 2008 say family members of the theater shooter petitioned the probate court to have him involuntarily committed “because he was a danger to himself and others.”
A judge issued the order, and John Houser was taken to a hospital in Columbus, Georgia.
While he was at the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office awaiting transfer to the hospital, Houser said to his wife that once he got out of the hospital, “he would continue his erratic as well as threatening behavior” to try to stop his daughter’s wedding, the filing said….
The wife and other family members of the Louisiana theater gunman asked for a temporary protective order in 2008 against the man.
Court documents seeking the order said John Houser, “exhibited extreme erratic behavior and has made ominous as well as disturbing statements.”
The documents said even though he lived in Phenix City, Alabama, he had come to Carroll County, Georgia, where they lived and “perpetrated various acts of family violence.”
Houser “has a history of mental health issues, i.e., manic depression and/or bi-polar disorder” the filing said.
The filing says Houser’s wife, Kellie Maddox Houser, “has become so worried about the defendant’s volatile mental state that she has removed all guns and/or weapons from their marital residence.”
One day after John Russell Houser killed two people and wounded nine in a movie theater in Lafayette, La., a picture is emerging online of a man caught up with a number of far right-wing ideas and fascinated about “the power of the lone wolf.”
Lots of questions. Thanks for posting this. I don’t believe she committed suicide. I feel sick thinking about the mugshot speculation. Larry Wilmore did a great job breaking down the traffic stop on “the Nightly Show” last night. I hadn’t been able to bring my self to listen to it, just read the transcript.
The Roxanne Gay article made me think of something. I drive around every day and am astonished at the number of white people who are talking and texting while they are driving but now that I stop to think about it, I cannot conjure up a memory of a black person talking or texting while driving. If it happens at all, it’s very rare. Imagine how they must feel looking around and seeing white people all around them doing what they dare not.
Washington state can force pharmacies to dispense Plan B or other emergency contraceptives, a federal appeals court said Thursday in a long-running lawsuit brought by pharmacists who said they have religious objections to providing the drugs.
The unanimous decision Thursday by the three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a 2012 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Ronald B. Leighton, who had found that the state’s rules violated pharmacy owners’ religious freedom. It was the second time the appeals court reversed Leighton in the case.
“This unanimous decision is a major victory for the people of Washington,” Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a prepared statement. “Decisions regarding medical care — including reproductive rights — are appropriately between a patient and his or her medical professionals.”
The Sky Dancing banner headline uses a snippet from a work by artist Tashi Mannox called 'Rainbow Study'. The work is described as a" study of typical Tibetan rainbow clouds, that feature in Thanka painting, temple decoration and silk brocades". dakinikat was immediately drawn to the image when trying to find stylized Tibetan Clouds to represent Sky Dancing. It is probably because Tashi's practice is similar to her own. His updated take on the clouds that fill the collection of traditional thankas is quite special.
You can find his work at his website by clicking on his logo below. He is also a calligraphy artist that uses important vajrayana syllables. We encourage you to visit his on line studio.
A movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana became the latest mass shooting site last night. The shooter was a 58 year old man whose identity is known but has not been released. He plus two of his victims are dead. There are more folks in surgery and in critical condition that will hopefully survive. The police were on the scene rather quickly because one of the victims–a teacher–pulled the fire alarm. The state is in shock and the Governor lost no time making political hay on site.
peej
Carissa
bostonboomer
ecocatwoman
mablue2
Mama Lopez
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Americans will never let go of their guns.
If we didn’t do it after Newtown, we never will.
Exactly.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/07/24/there-have-been-204-mass-shootings-and-204-days-in-2015-so-far/ This was the 204th mass shooting–more than 4 people shot–so far in 2015.
Whoa, that is one astounding figure. That is just unreal.
Repeal of the second amendment is the ultimate solution..
As they did in Australia after their mass shooting in 1996, they no longer allowed civilians to possess guns. Period. Everything we use today is digital…everyone is using a digital tech device RIGHT NOW to write a comment. 20 years ago we wrote letters to the editor. Stoves are digital so are home heating systems..Heck you can control EVERYTHING electronic in your home from 100 miles away…lock the doors, turn on the alarms etc. But guns?? No the NRA REFUSES to allow “smart guns.” Thousands of AR-15s are stolen out of warehouses in the Middle East. People carry guns in their locked glove compartments, on their bedside table..stolen…then used by criminals. They MAKE a digital gun that will ONLY fire if the person is wearing a thin bracelet that matches the guns’ sensors. You have to be holding the gun in that hand. EASY. If it is taken from you? They can’t use it on you…as it only works from a short distance. Someone steals your gun..they can’t use it! But the stupid people of the NRA won’t go for it. The NRA refuses computerization. Gun sales are done on paper receipts then sent to ATF! Doctors arent allowed to even ask if there are guns in the home…we can ask about lockingup poisons and medications but NOT guns! Someone is depressed? Can’t ask if there is a gun. 19,000 people commit suicde by gun every year in the USA. Suicide is usually a very impulsive act. If you had to wait 5 days for a back ground check for a permit…the person may get help. People say well you can commit suicde other ways! No. Overdoses only lead to death 2% of the time..guns? 90%. The ten% who make it? Usually shoot their face off or are brain damaged for the rest of their lives. If we just require digital..and have 100% background checks for EVERY gun purchased AND require insurance..just like the insurance you are required for a car..require safety lessons, class, and show that you know how to handle a gun..just some SIMPLE LAWS it would be a start. But old white people are terrified that Obama and the blacks are gonna take their gunz away!
As well if the U.S. government, the largest purchaser of firearms, would require that the only guns the government will purchase must be smart guns, the manufacturers would have to provide them or lose the contract.
Yup, one official from Louisiana said that they needed laws like the one in Georgia, where you can ignore a sign that says no guns allowed in theatre, and that every parent ought to carry one in movies to protect their families. Can you just see a shootout in the dark theatre? “Look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism. It’s less than 100. If you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it’s in the tens of thousands.”
I am so saddened that this kind of violence is now a everyday thing. And rather than talk about the men who are doing it, the republicans are on tv saying that it’s women tearing babies apart at Planned Parenthood that is to blame, because women don’t value life. That’s what was said on CNN Chris Cuomo, and he didn’t blink an eye, and allowed that kind of talk. Which we know often leads to men killing women. I see fire when I hear the republicans talk about PP.
It takes a special kind of dumb ass to think that you can curb violence by encouraging violence. The reality is just the opposite. The more people who own and carry weapons the more people will die. There is just no way around human nature, human incompetence and human narcissism. Add the angry/crazy right wing conservative in the mix and you have a very, very combustible situation. We’ve now had decades of asshats like Limbaugh, Hannity, etc. preaching hatred of liberals, AA’s, poor people etc. Nothing good was ever going to come out of promoting hatred and we are finally starting to see the results and it isn’t very pretty.
I think of it like this, if there’s a kid in the playground throwing rock at kids, do you give the other little kids rocks and say, wow, now I feel safe and they should be safer now! Not!
For sure, that makes sense to us.
I hear you. Nobody seems to want to crack down on the hatred coming from the wing nuts.
And you are right, we have been flooded with this for years. It’s the same crap they have thrown at Hillary for years, and years. All the fraud all the lies, and all the damage, and they are on the rise, by having Bernie’s supporters join in. It’s not pretty, and it’s becoming a daily event.
Fannie, the two dead victims are women and the movie this creep bought a ticket for is one targeted to young women. I don’t believe for a moment that that’s random, but you can bet your sweet behind that it won’t be classified as a hate crime.
They’re saying on Twitter he was encouraged to call in to right wing talk shows because his antiwomen screeds were funny and entertaining.
So funny and so entertaining. As I said, Dak, it will never be called a hate crime because you know, bitches.
Sweet Sue, you nailed it. They will not claim this a hate crime against women. Hell, you see how the republicans spin their war against women, especially this morning on New Day. They are creating problems galore for us.
NBC News:
John Russell Houser Identified as Louisiana Movie Theater Shooter
A “drifter” with sat silently in a movie theater for 20 minutes before shooting 11 other patrons in an
LA Times:
Federal investigators want criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton emails.
What are these “Federal investigators'” names????
WTF? “Potentially” anything is possible. It’s all BS and just another case of CDS.
Eric Wemple of WaPo critiques NYT story on Clinton e-mails.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2015/07/24/new-york-times-says-there-was-no-factual-error-in-hillary-clinton-e-mail-referral-story/
The reporting of this is making me cussing mad. I think I’ll send a little money to Hillary to make myself feel better.
Elijah Cummings is on Hardball saying it’s just a pure move to decrease her political standing in the presidential race. He really laid it out as sleazy.
Good for him!
Yes! Listened to Judy Woodruff drone on about it just now. My wife got a little nervous when I said every trumped up story just makes me want to donate MORE! I won’t blow the rent, but I am motivated to donate regularly and often now. It’s on : )
😉 !!!!!!!!
Me too, I am sick of them doing the same thing again and again and getting away with it. Hillary was strong in reply, suggesting they must be suffering from the HEAT.
Miami Herald:
Theater gunman graduated college, had law degree
Wow!
AP: Cruz, on Senate Floor, Accuses GOP Leader McConnell of Lying
What on earth do republican hate about the Import export bank?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/24/ted-cruz-calls-mitch-mcconnell-a-liar-on-the-senate-floor/
They’re such idiots these days it’s hard to know what they’re up to …
You can say that again, fucking idiots.
Raw Story:
Louisiana gunman was a Tea Party kook who hated Obama and admired Hitler
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/louisiana-gunman-was-a-confederate-flag-flying-tea-party-kook-who-hated-obama-and-admired-hitler/
Figures
He’s pretty much who I avoid these days. white. Male.christianist.Republican. yup all crazy.
View at Medium.com
He was evidently prolific on line.
He hated women.
Lots of questions. Thanks for posting this. I don’t believe she committed suicide. I feel sick thinking about the mugshot speculation. Larry Wilmore did a great job breaking down the traffic stop on “the Nightly Show” last night. I hadn’t been able to bring my self to listen to it, just read the transcript.
Roxanne Gay in NYT today:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/25/opinion/on-the-death-of-sandra-bland-and-our-vulnerable-bodies.html?_r=1
Some coverage from Democracy Now:
http://www.democracynow.org/2015/7/24/sandra_bland_s_sister_responds_to
http://www.democracynow.org/2015/7/24/i_dont_believe_sandy_committed_suicide
The Roxane Gay article was excellent, especially the part where her brother was stopped for driving while black when she was on the phone with him.
The Roxanne Gay article made me think of something. I drive around every day and am astonished at the number of white people who are talking and texting while they are driving but now that I stop to think about it, I cannot conjure up a memory of a black person talking or texting while driving. If it happens at all, it’s very rare. Imagine how they must feel looking around and seeing white people all around them doing what they dare not.
Jindal: All about the guns … http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/davidbadash/bobby_jindal_who_greatly_expanded_access_to_guns_we_never_imaged_this_would_happen_in_louisiana
Oy.
If he means pray for the Democrats to take back Congress, I do everyday.
Good one! Me too.
Oh hell yeah, telling to cops to pray will solve the case!
Here’s some better news:
That is good news!
Gun Used in Lafayette Louisiana Shooting Was Purchased Legally, Killer ‘Methodical’
http://abcnews.go.com/US/gun-lafayette-louisiana-shooting-purchased-legally-killer-methodical/story?id=32674719