LAFAYETTE, La., July 23 (UPI) — A gunman opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun in a movie theater Thursday night, killing at least two and wounding at least nine before turning the gun on himself, police said.
The 58-year-old gunman, who was not named, opened fire in the theater during the previews for the comedy Trainwreck, about 7:30 p.m. at the Grand Theatre 16 in Lafayette, La., a city of about 120,000, 60 miles west of Baton Rouge.
The first two people hit in the audience were sitting directly in front of him. The victims range from the teens to about 60 years old with injuries ranging from minor to life threatening. There were about 100 in the theater at the time.
A bomb squad checked the suspect’s vehicle in the parking lot when police officers spotted suspicious items inside.
The shooting came within days of the verdict in the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting, adding to speculation it might have been a copycat. Police have not found any connection between the shooter and anyone inside the theater.
“There’s nothing to believe that there was any kind of motive,” said Col. Michael Edmonson of the Louisiana State Police.
White House Secretary Josh Earnest said the president, en route to Africa, has been briefed about the shooting and the status of the injured.
“The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the White House, including the president and first lady, are with the community of Lafayette, La., especially the families of those who were killed,” the statement read.
In an interview with BBC on Friday, Obama said gun control has been on ongoing issue “where I feel that I’ve been most frustrated and most stymied.” Obama said the United States lacks “sufficient common-sense, gun-safety laws. Even in the face of repeated mass killings.”
“If you look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism, it’s less than 100. If you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it’s in the tens of thousands,” he said.
Among those wounded were teachers, Jena Meaux and Ali Martin, who work at schools in the Iberia Parish. Gov. Bobby Jindal said one of the women jumped on top of the other to save her from bullets. After being shot in the leg, Meaux reportedly pulled a fire alarm to alert authorities to the incident.
“Her friend literally jumped over her,” Jindal said. “If her friend hadn’t done that, she believed the bullet would have hit her in the head.”
Cammie Maturin, the president of the Iberia Association of Educators, said the two women are close friends. She and colleagues have set up a GoFundMe page for the teachers for medical bills.
“That’s them, that’s who they are,” she said of the women’s bravery. “They did exactly who they are as people; saving each other, saving a whole lot of other people.”
Amy Schumer, star of Trainwreck, tweeted her condolences in the hours after the shooting.
My heart is broken and all my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Louisiana.— Amy Schumer (@amyschumer) July 24, 2015
Witness Jalen Fernell told CNN he was in a nearby theater when he heard the gunshots and thought it was part of the movie.
“Immediately we get terrified because they are telling us to head out to vehicles,” Fernell said. “We don’t know whether the shooter is in the parking lot. It was kinda like a war going on … gunshots after gunshots.”
Early on, police reported that just two people, including the gunman, were killed. Authorities revised that toll a short time later.
“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,” Jindal said. “This is an awful night for Lafayette, an awful night for Louisiana, an awful night for the United States.”
Danielle Haynes and Doug G. Ware contributed to this report.
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