John Russel Houser: Police ID Gunman In Louisiana Movie Theater Shooting

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This post has been updated.

Police in Lafayette, La., have identified the gunman who opened fire Thursday night in a local movie theater as John Russel Houser.

The shooter killed two people and injured nine before taking his own life.

Officials described Houser, a 59-year-old white male, as a “drifter.” They said he had been living in Alabama, but was staying at a hotel in Louisiana since early July.

Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said that officials believe Houser planned to carry out the shooting and then flee the theater. Houser was forced back into the theater when police arrived at the scene, according to Craft. Police found wigs and disguises while searching Houser’s hotel room.

Police have not yet determined whether Houser was working with anyone else, according to Craft.

Officials also identified the two victims who died in the attack as 21-year-old Mayci Breaux and 33-year-old Jillian Johnson, according to Acadiana television station KATC. Of the nine people injured in the attack, two have been released from the hospital and one remains in critical condition, according to police.

Correction: This post has originally misspelled part of John Russel Houser’s name.

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  1. From David Wheeler Newton dad Speaking to Scott Pelley on CBS
    David Wheeler — I would like every parent in this country — that’s 150 million people. I would like them to look in the mirror and that’s not a figure of speech, Scott [Pelley]. I mean, find a mirror in your house and look in it and look in your eyes and say “this will never happen to me, this will never happen in my school, this will never happen in my community,” and see if you actually believe that. And if there’s a shadow, the slightest shadow of doubt in what you’ve said? Think about what you can do to change that. — It is going to happen again. It’s going to happen again. Every time, it’s somebody else’s school, it’s somebody else’s community, it’s somebody else’s town. Until one day, you wake up and it’s not.

    Welcome to America

  2. Officials described Houser, a 59-year-old white male, as a “drifter.”

    Sure glad that Florida gun store owner is protecting us from all them Muslims that want to get guns to shoot us all up. 'Cause good, honest white guys would never… shit… I can’t even go on.

  3. drifter my ass, who cares, does that make him any less a terrorist? terrorist and coward.

  4. Where are the “good guy with a gun” trolls? I expected several to pop up like mushrooms here already.

  5. Avatar for vonq vonq says:

    Maybe we need to start officially announcing the victims’ names before the killer’s. Switch the emphasis right up front. So only law enforcement is speculating/gathering evidence, whys and wherefores, for about three days and we can reduce the killer’s moment of fame from 15 minutes to about 2. Discourage others.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

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