Local news
A gunman killed two people and wounded nine others after standing up
and opening fire about 20 minutes into a movie in Lafayette, Louisiana,
police said.
Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said the
58-year-old man used a handgun and took his own life when officers
arrived at the scene within about a minute.
Dee Stanley, chief administrative officer of the
city about 50 miles southwest of Baton Rouge, told MSNBC TV that some
of the wounded were in "very critical" condition with life-threatening
injuries.
The ages of the victims range from late teens to 60s, according to Craft.
The gunman was sitting in the Grand Theatre 16 "just like everybody
else" before shooting randomly during a screening of the movie "Trainwreck" at about 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. ET), Craft said.
He added: "The information we have at this time
indicates that he was by himself, he sat by himself and the first two
people he shot were sitting right in front of him ... When he stood up
and started firing, people started rushing out. It looks like he spotted
the officers coming in and he turned around, went against the crowd and
fired a single gunshot."
Officials said the gunman had a "criminal history."