Lafayatte, Louisiana (Antara/Reuters) - A lone gunman opened fire inside a crowded movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Thursday evening, killing two people and injuring seven others before taking his own life, police said.
The gunfire erupted during a 7 p.m. CDT (0000 GMT) showing of the film "Trainwreck" and took place almost three years to the day after a massacre at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado, that killed 12 people.
Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said two people died in the hail of bullets before the 58-year-old gunman killed himself with a handgun as officers responded to the scene shortly after 7:30 p.m.
Seven people suffered injuries ranging from non life-threatening to critical, Craft said. Authorities said they know the shooter's identity but were not releasing his name during the early stage of the investigation.
Authorities searched cars in the parking lot of the theater on a main thoroughfare and dispatched officers to other theaters in Lafayette and descended on the gunman's home.
But investigators offered no immediate motive and the gunman's body remained inside the theater several hours later.
None of the victims were immediately identified by authorities.
Witness Katie Domingue told the local Advertiser newspaper that the gunman stood up in the theater and began shooting about 20 minutes into the movie.
"He wasn't saying anything. I didn't hear anybody screaming either," Domingue said.(*)
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Jawa Timur 2015
The gunfire erupted during a 7 p.m. CDT (0000 GMT) showing of the film "Trainwreck" and took place almost three years to the day after a massacre at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado, that killed 12 people.
Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said two people died in the hail of bullets before the 58-year-old gunman killed himself with a handgun as officers responded to the scene shortly after 7:30 p.m.
Seven people suffered injuries ranging from non life-threatening to critical, Craft said. Authorities said they know the shooter's identity but were not releasing his name during the early stage of the investigation.
Authorities searched cars in the parking lot of the theater on a main thoroughfare and dispatched officers to other theaters in Lafayette and descended on the gunman's home.
But investigators offered no immediate motive and the gunman's body remained inside the theater several hours later.
None of the victims were immediately identified by authorities.
Witness Katie Domingue told the local Advertiser newspaper that the gunman stood up in the theater and began shooting about 20 minutes into the movie.
"He wasn't saying anything. I didn't hear anybody screaming either," Domingue said.(*)
Editor : Chandra Hamdani Noer
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Jawa Timur 2015