Officials react to Louisiana movie theater shooting
Three people, including the gunman, were killed and seven more were wounded in the shooting at The Grand theater in Lafayette.
Despite the tragic frequency of such events, gathering and disseminating information in the wake of a mass shooting invariably becomes a scramble.
A gunman opened fire in a Lafayette, Louisiana, movie theater Thursday night, killing two people and wounding seven others. He then turned the gun on himself.
Police and other officials scurried to deliver the information they had in a late-night press conference, and Chief Jim Craft gave further information in a Friday morning presser, in which he identified the shooter as 59-year-old John Russel Houser. Col. Michael Edmonson of the Louisiana State Police said police have yet to determine a motive.
In remarks during Thursday’s conference, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called for prayers and 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.”
On Twitter, he added:
Prayers for Lafayette at Grand Theater. Talking to state police colonel about shooting in Lafayette.
— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) July 24, 2015
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