Police identify Louisiana movie theater shooting suspect as ‘drifter’ from Alabama
Ashley Cusick, Sarah Kaplan and J. Freedom du Lac
LAFAYETTE, LA. — A lone gunman, described by police as a middle-aged “drifter” from Alabama, opened fire in a movie theater here Thursday night, killing at least two people and injuring nine others before killing himself, police said.
Police identified the shooter Friday as 59-year-old John Russell Houser from Phenix, Ala., and said it appeared that he intended to flee in a getaway car parked near a theater exit. Police also found disguises in a motel room where Houser had been staying nearby since early July.
Houser seemed to be sitting alone in Grand Theatre 16 during an evening screening of the romantic comedy “Trainwreck” when he fired a semi-automatic handgun, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said. The first two people hit were the audience members sitting right in front of him.
“He bought a ticket and went into the theater,” Craft said. “And sometime during the movie, he started shooting.”
Two women were killed — one, 21-year-old college student Mayci Breaux, died at the theater; another, 33-year-old musician and graphic designer Jillian Johnson, died at a local hospital.
Breaux and her boyfriend were believed to be sitting directly in front of Houser in the theater, Craft said.
VIEW PHOTO GALLERY