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[h=4]Police: La. theater killer bought gun legally[/h]The gunman who shot and killed two people in a packed movie theater in Lafayette, La., was described Friday as a middle-aged "drifter" from Alabama who apparently planned to flee the area.
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Police identified the man accused of opening fire in a Lafayette, Louisiana movie theater as John Russell Houser from Alabama. Houser is accused of shooting 11 people and then killing himself during an evening showing of 'Trainwreck.' KHOU
In this April 27, 2001 photo, pub owner John Russell Houser speaks at a LaGrange City Council, in LaGrange, Ga. On Thursday, July 23, 2015, Houser stood up about 20 minutes into the "Trainwreck" movie and fired at people sitting in front of him, then aimed his handgun at others in Lafayette, La.(Photo: Nat Gurley, AP)
LAFAYETTE, LA. — The<span style="color: Red;">*</span>gunman who<span style="color: Red;">*</span>shot<span style="color: Red;">*</span>two people to death and wounded nine others<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in a movie theater<span style="color: Red;">*</span>before killing himself Thursday night had legally purchased his<span style="color: Red;">*</span>.40-caliber semiautomatic pistol last year from a pawnshop in Phenix City, Ala., his last permanent residence,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>police said Friday.
Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said 15 shell casings were recovered<span style="color: Red;">*</span>at the Grand Theater 16, where 59-year-old<span style="color: Red;">*</span>John Russell Houser<span style="color: Red;">*</span>opened fire on 24 people watching<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the romantic comedy Trainwreck. He attempted slip out among hundreds of panicked moviegoers fleeing<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the complex<span style="color: Red;">*</span>but went back inside as police closed in. He<span style="color: Red;">*</span>fired three more shots before killing himself with a final round.
He had visited the theater complex more than once, Craft said,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>perhaps to determine "whether there was anything that could be a soft target for him."
Joined by Gov. Bobby Jindal at<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a news conference, Craft reported that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>one victim remained in critical condition and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>four others<span style="color: Red;">*</span>were in stable condition. Four more were released from the hospital.
One of the wounded played dead to survive, Jindal said.
"He took his time, methodically choosing his victims," he said.
Houser<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was described Friday as a "drifter" from Phenix City who espoused extreme right-wing views, threatened his family and others and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>had<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a history of mental problems. He was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>denied a concealed carry gun permit in 2006 because of his 1990 arrest for trying to hire someone to set fire to a Georgia lawyer's office and a<span style="color: Red;">*</span><span style="color: Red;">*</span>domestic violence complaint against him in 2005, Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor confirmed.
His arrest record, according to Phenix City police, lists incidents of alleged theft in 2011 and domestic violence in 2007.
He was "a drifter who just happened to be in this theater and just took two beautiful lives," said Col. Michael Edmonson<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of the Louisiana State Police. He said Houser acted<span style="color: Red;">*</span>alone and had<span style="color: Red;">*</span>apparently planned to escape using wigs and other disguises found in a Motel 6 room he had rented since early July.
Police and people who knew<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Houser portrayed him as an<span style="color: Red;">*</span>angry, deeply conservative<span style="color: Red;">*</span>man with mental and financial problems who<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>estranged from his family. The church-going son of a local tax official, he was described as an<span style="color: Red;">*</span>anti-government, anti-tax, anti-abortion activist<span style="color: Red;">*</span>who opposed women in the workforce and was prone to threats.
"He was pretty even-keeled until you disagreed with him or made him mad," said Jeff Hardin, mayor of Phenix City, just across the state line from Columbus, Ga.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"Then he became your sworn enemy."
Houser "has a history of mental health issues, i.e. manic depression and/or bi-polar disorder," his family said in court documents in 2008, when he made violent threats in an effort to stop his daughter's wedding, the Associated Press reports. A judge granted the family's petition to have him involuntarily committed to a hospital as "a danger to himself and others."
Houser refused to back down after getting out, however, so his wife, daughter and other relatives also obtained a protective order after accusing him of having "perpetrated various acts of family violence."
In the 1990s, Houser<span style="color: Red;">*</span>studied accounting in Georgia and earned a law degree at Faulkner University in Alabama, frequently appeared on a local television call-in show, advocating violence against people involved in abortions, said Calvin Floyd, who hosted the morning show on WLTZ-TV in Columbus, Ga.
USA TODAY
Lafayette shooter showed some extreme views
Edmonson, from the Louisiana State Police, said authorities had spoken to Houser's family since the shooting and that "<span style="color: Red;">*</span>his mom had loaned<span style="color: Red;">*</span>him some money, he was going to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>get his life together, he told them."
Witnesses said the melee Thursday evening began about 20 minutes into the screening of Trainwreck, starring Amy Schumer.
"The information we have at this time indicates that he was by himself, sat by himself and the first two people he shot were sitting right in front of him," Craft said earlier Friday.
Lafayette police stand outside of the Grand Theater on July 23, 2015 in Lafayette, Louisiana. Three people are dead and seven more injured after a gunman opened fire inside the Grand Theatre.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Stacy Revere, Getty Images)
Mayci Breaux, 21, of Franklin, La., died at the scene and Jillian Johnson, 33, of Lafayette, died at the hospital, police said.
Police said Houser had parked his 1995 Lincoln Continental, with switched phony license plates, near the theater's exit and was apparently trying to escape when officers arrived. He had left his keys on top of one tire.
"It is apparent that he was intent on shooting and then escaping,"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Craft said. "Quick law enforcement response forced him back inside the theater, at<span style="color: Red;">*</span>which time he shot himself."
Police said Houser had been carrying an extra magazine of ammunition, which he dropped<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in the lobby while<span style="color: Red;">*</span>trying to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>escape. He picked it up and went back into the theater where he shot himself, according to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>authorities.
Police later searched Houser's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>room at a local Motel 6 where he had apparently been staying for a few weeks, Craft said. They found<span style="color: Red;">*</span>wigs, glasses and other disguises.
An emotional Craft said it's frustrating not knowing the shooter's motive. "Why would you come here and do something like this?" he asked during a news conference Friday morning.
Witnesses said Houser had<span style="color: Red;">*</span>entered the theater alone. Police said surveillance video<span style="color: Red;">*</span>showed him buying a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>ticket normally like other patrons.
There was no warning before the gunman opened fire.
"We heard a loud pop we thought was a firecracker," Katie Domingue of Carencro said. She was at the 7 p.m. showing of Trainwreck<span style="color: Red;">*</span>with her fiance, Joshua Doggett, in Theater No. 14. About 20 minutes into the movie, Domingue said, she heard a loud noise.
She said she saw "an older white man" standing up and shooting down, not in her direction.
"He wasn't saying anything. I didn't hear anybody screaming either," Domingue said.
She heard about six shots, she said, before she and Doggett ran to the nearest exit, leaving behind her shoes and purse.
"Everyone was just running down the stairs, freaking out, climbing over stairs, people," said Lucas Knepper, a senior at Louisiana State University. "Everyone was screaming;<span style="color: Red;">*</span>it was awful."
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal spoke emotionally from the scene, hailing the first responders.
"I want to praise the law enforcers who ran toward danger," Jindal said. "This is a time for us to come together. What we can do now is pray. We can hug these families, shower them with love, thoughts and prayers."
"This is an awful night for Lafayette, an awful night for Louisiana, an awful night for the United States," a somber Jindal said.
Lafayette is about 60 miles west of Baton Rouge.
The latest data available from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that in 2013, the state had the nation’s second highest firearm death rate after Alaska. The Louisiana rate 19.3 deaths per 100,000 people.
Contributing: The (Lafayette, La.) Daily Advertiser, Gregg Zoroya and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Susan Miller in McLean, Va., The Associated Press
DEADLY MOVIE THEATER SHOOTING IN LA.More details released about Louisiana theater shooter | 01:42Police have released more information on the actions of a 59-year-old man who opened fire inside a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana. VPC
DEADLY MOVIE THEATER SHOOTING IN LA.Louisiana theater gunman identified as 'drifter' | 02:37Police identified the man accused of opening fire in a Lafayette, Louisiana movie theater as John Russell Houser from Alabama. Houser is accused of shooting 11 people and then killing himself during an evening showing of 'Trainwreck.' KHOU
DEADLY MOVIE THEATER SHOOTING IN LA.Louisiana governor lauds heroism from victims, police | 01:27Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal described "amazing acts of heroism and selflessness" performed by Lafayette theater shooting victims and cops. He pinpointed teachers who pulled a fire alarm and cops who prevented the gunman from causing more harm. VPC
DEADLY MOVIE THEATER SHOOTING IN LA.3 are dead, 9 injured in Louisiana theater shooting | 01:14Investigators say a 59-year-old man opened fire at the Grand Theater in Lafayette, Louisiana during a showing of 'Trainwreck.' Three people are dead, including the gunman. Nine people are hospitalized with a range of injuries. KHOU
DEADLY MOVIE THEATER SHOOTING IN LA.Amy Schumer among celebs reacting to Louisiana theater shooting | 01:09Amy Schumer and other celebrities are expressing their grief on Twitter, after a shooting in Louisiana during a screening of Schumer's latest film "Trainwreck" left three dead. Buzz60
DEADLY MOVIE THEATER SHOOTING IN LA.Survivor of La. theater shooting: 'It was just awful' | 02:42A 21-year-old college student and his friend were in the evening showing of 'Trainwreck' in Lafayette, Louisiana when a 59-year-old man opened fire in the theater. They described the scene, where three people died, as chaotic. USA TODAY
DEADLY MOVIE THEATER SHOOTING IN LA.Police Chief: Theater Shooting Scene Is Horrific | 00:45A gunman sitting in a packed movie theater stood up about 20 minutes into the showing of "Trainwreck" and began firing into the crowd, killing two and injuring at least nine others Thursday before fatally shooting himself, officials said. (July 24) AP
DEADLY MOVIE THEATER SHOOTING IN LA.Jindal: Pray for Louisiana shooting victim's families | 01:22A gunman opened fire at a movie theater in Louisiana on Thursday evening, killing two people and injuring at least seven others before shooting himself, officials said. (July 24) AP
DEADLY MOVIE THEATER SHOOTING IN LA.Several dead in Louisiana movie theater shooting | 01:08At least two people were killed and several wounded when a gunman opened fire at a movie theater in Louisiana. The gunman is reportedly dead.
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DEADLY MOVIE THEATER SHOOTING IN LA.Raw: Multiple victims in Louisiana theater shooting | 00:41A man opened fire Thursday night at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, leaving two people dead and several injured, according to authorities. TheAdvertiser.com
DEADLY MOVIE THEATER SHOOTING IN LA.ShowBiz Minute: Schumer, Jolie, Swift | 01:05Amy Schumer 'heartbroken' by shooting at 'Trainwreck' screening; Angelina Jolie to direct war movie for Netflix; Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj put MTV spat behind them. (July 24) AP
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