Police Identify Louisiana Theater shooter as John Russell Houser, Alabama ‘Drifter’
LAFAYETTE, La., July 24 (UPI) — John Houser, the drifter identified as the gunman who opened fire in a Lafayette, La., movie theater Thursday night killing two women, is being described by family members as “mentally disturbed.” The descriptions came in a filing by Houser’s wife who requested a protective order back in 2008. At the time, Kellie Maddox Houser reported that she was so worried about her husband’s “mental state that she had removed all guns and/or weapons from their marital residence.” She filed for divorce from the 59-year-old “drifter” this March and he had been living in a local Lafayette motel for several weeks.
Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said two women died in the shooting at Grand Theatre 16 in Lafayette, La. Mayci Breaux, 21, died at the scene and Jillian Johnson died at the hospital. One victim is in critical condition at a local hospital. Two victims have been released from the hospital. The condition of the remaining six hospitalized victims who range in age from teens to 60s is unclear.
Investigators searched the hotel room where Houser was staying and found “wigs and glasses and disguises” in his room where had been living since early July, Craft said. Houser has no known connection to Lafayette, a city of about 120,000, 60 miles west of Baton Rouge.
“At this point we have very little information on him,” Craft said, imploring the public for help.
“Why did he come here? Why did he do that? We don’t know that,” added Col. Michael Edmonson of the Louisiana State Police.
Police said they have not found any indication Houser was working with any groups. Houser fired at least 13 rounds in the theater during the previews for the comedy Trainwreck, about 7:30 p.m. As the 100 movie goers ran from the theater, Houser attempted to blend in with the crowd, but when he saw approaching police officers, who happened to be already on the scene, he turned back into the theater. Police found Houser dead from a self-inflicted gunshot.
Houser had parked his 1995 blue Lincoln Continental near the back exit of the movie theater, Craft said, adding it had a “switched” license plate.
“It was apparent he was intent on shooting and then escaping,” he said. Crime scene investigators found a 40-caliber handgun in the theater. There were no explosive devices found in the theater, car or the motel room.
Craft said quick law enforcement response to the shooting helped cut down on more victims. He said 12 ambulances were on scene within six minutes. Inside the theater, movie goers left keys, purses and shoes behind in their haste to run from the shooter.
“As you can image, it’s pretty horrific in there,” he said.
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,” Edmonson said early in the investigation.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama, 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,” a statement read.
In an interview with the 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 two 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, 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 to help with their 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.
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.
