John Houser identified as theater shooter, killed 2, teachers praised by Jindal
A shooter killed two and wounded nineThursday night when he opened fire at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, before taking his own life, local authorities said. Gov. Bobby Jindal praised the heroic actions of a teacher who took a bullet for a colleague during the incident.
Sgt. Brooks David of the Louisiana State Police described the gunman at the Grand Theatre and confirmed he entered the theater by himself.
About 100 people were inside of the theater at the time, authorities said when John Houser, 58, opened fire. The victims range in age from their late teens to their 60s, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said.
The man did have a criminal record but it was “pretty old,” according to Craft. Police confirmed that the three dead, included the shooter.
Witness Katie Domingue of Carencro, La., told The Advertiser that she was at the theater with her fiance for the 7 p.m. showing of Trainwreck when, about 20 minutes into the movie, she heard a loud noise. She looked up and saw “an older white man” shooting, but not in her direction, she said.
“He wasn’t saying anything,” she said. “I didn’t hear anybody screaming either.”
Jindal arrived at the scene, calling the incident an act of “evil” and said that the pair of teachers were “just out to watch a movie during the last few days of summer break” when the suspect suddenly started shooting.
“Her friend literally jumped over her and, in her account, actually saved her life,” Jindal said. “If she hadn’t done that, the fellow teacher got shot, that bullet she believed would have hit her in the head.”
“Now both teachers ended up getting shot, but that second one, the one whose life was saved, even though she was shot, she had the presence of mind to pull the fire alarm to help save other lives,” Jindal added.
The Louisiana governor, who asked for Americans to pray for those affected those affected, said he suspected that more stories of bravery would emerge in the coming days.
“I think as we learn more about the details tonight, we’re going to hear about other acts of selfless heroism,” he said.