Three dead, including gunman, in Louisiana cinema shooting
News, US July 24, 2015 No Comments on Three dead, including gunman, in Louisiana cinema shootingA gunman in the US state of Louisiana opened fire at cinema, killing two people and injuring nine others before shooting himself, according to officials.
Police said the attacker was a 58-year-old white man armed with a handgun and believed to have acted alone, Lafayette police Sgt. Brooks David. Police Chief Jim Craft added that he had a criminal history. Details were not provided.
Witnesses said the man opened fire about 20 minutes into a screening of the comedy movie “Trainwreck” at the Grand Theatre in Lafayette. About 100 people were inside the theater at the time, according to CNN.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who arrived at the scene late on Thursday night, told media: “We will get through this. We are a resilient community.”
“This is an awful night for Lafayette. This is an awful night for Louisiana. This is an awful night for the United States,” he added.
US actress Amy Schumer, who stars in Trainwreck, tweeted: “My heart is broken and all my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Louisiana.”
The shooting comes as a jury deliberates the death penalty for a gunman who attacked a cinema in Colorado three years ago. James Holmes killed 12 people and wounding 70 others in July 2012 at a screening of a Batman film near Denver.
Louisiana State Rep. and others call for stricter gun control laws after Theater shooting
Louisiana state Rep. Terry Landry Sr. (D) called for more gun control at a press conference Friday after the shooting at a Lafayette, Louisiana movie theater. “It’s our job as legislators to close the loopholes in these gun laws,” Landry said.
Landry said it’s a problem when a person who is mentally unstable “can get access to a gun and wreak havoc on our community.”
“We have to have a serious conversation, we have to have serious repeals on some of these gun restrictions, or lack of gun restrictions in our community,” he said.
Louisiana has some of the most relaxed gun control laws in the United States, ThinkProgress pointed out on Friday. Police have yet to release information about how Houser acquired the gun used in Thursday’s shooting.
Some popular tweets pushing for gun control after the incident:
Condolences to families of those killed in Louisiana shooting. More proof that gun control is needed now: http://t.co/Ib6nwucPbn
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 24, 2015
If it's futile to have gun laws because criminals won't obey gun laws, why do we have laws against stealing? #LafayetteShooting
— JRehling (@JRehling) July 24, 2015
LA, the state where #LafayetteShooting occurred, has some of the weakest —if not the weakest —gun laws in the nation http://t.co/ea5rmqeEif
— KHARY PENEBAKER (@kharyp) July 24, 2015
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