The Lafayette, Louisiana, movie theater shooter was 59-year-old John Russel Houser, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said Friday.
Craft described Houser as "kind of a drifter" who was from Alabama and had been in Lafayette since early July, staying at a local hotel. Authorities have found various "disguises, basically" at the hotel room where he'd been staying.
Houser fired at least 13 rounds, according to the police chief.
"It appears he was intent on shooting and escaping," Clark said of the shooter. "The quick law enforcement response pushed him back into the theater."
As to his motive, Col. Michael Edmonson of the Louisiana State Police said, "Why did he come here? Why did he do that? We don't know that."
Mayci Breaux, 21, died at the scene, and Jillian Johnson, 33, died later at a nearby hospital, according to Craft.
They may not know why this gunman killed these people, but we certainly know how.
With a semi-automatic handgun.
Charleston, Chattanooga, and now Lafayette.
In how many industrialized countries in the world do people fear the possibility of being shot in a theater? Or in their local church? Or while walking into a military recruiter's office?
And it is not like our President has not wanted to do something to help protect us either. In fact he recently spoke about the greatest frustration during his presidency:
"If you ask me where has been the one area where I feel that I've been most frustrated and most stymied, it is the fact that the United States of America is the one advanced nation on Earth in which, we do not have sufficient common-sense gun safety laws, even in the face of repeated mass killings," Obama said. "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."
We call ourselves the greatest nation on earth, but we do nothing to earn that title. Not really.
Apparently nothing is more important than our freedom to own a gun. Not even our very lives.
Updare: Well here's a huge non-surprise:
The gunman who killed two moviegoers and wounded nine others had a prolific online commenting history that revealed a fascination with censorship, Iran, and right-wing politics — and a Google search reveals he flew a Confederate flag in front of his home.
The guy also signed up as a Tea party member in 2013, thought the Westboro "I hate fags" church was the last "real" church in America, and that the US is racist against white people.
Gee, I wonder how the Right Wing will manage to blame THIS on Obama?
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/07/24/3684114/louisiana-lax-gun-laws/
ReplyDeleteTo fix this problem, Bobby Jindal will propose a new law for Louisiana today. The law will allow movie patrons (10 years and older) to rent loaded 9mm pistols when they purchase their ticket.
ReplyDeleteThe only way to stop a bad guy with a gun in a movie theater is to arm good guys with MORE DAMN GUNS.
Dakota plans to be in the lobby selling "Never Outgunned" tee shirts.
Murica ...what a f'ed up place to live .. and die in.
Excellent comment ...
DeleteHow can the killer go into a GUN FREE ZONE and kill people, IT is posted on the doors. This should have stopped John.
DeleteRequired carry....it's the only possible answer! But, please, let's not have the government involved in the rental business. Gun shop kiosks by the popcorn machine is the proper way to allow the market to self-regulate this new growth industry. Probably be able to do pretty good business renting out full body armor outfits as well. Personally, I'd skip the handgun options no matter how big the caliber and how large the clip and go straight for a semi-auto shotgun w/hollowpoint loads.
Deletehttp://tunasfirearmsales.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/IMG-20110702-00021.274131442_std.jpg
Or all the gun nuts will "Stand guard" outside theaters...
DeleteGUN CONTROL!!!!
GUN CONTROL!!!!
Especially for RW nutjobs!!!
@7:41 AM Just like an abstinence only sign posted outside of the Palins' houses?
DeleteGovernor Piyush Jindal, when asked about the impact of the shooting on Louisiana's gun control laws replied something like: "This is not the time for that discussion. Tonight is about the victims."
ReplyDeleteOK, Governor Asshole -- so -- tell us -- WHEN IS THE TIME TO TALK ABOUT GUNS??????
Instead it's time to finally begin serious discussion of the Sandy Hook School shooting, the death there of 20 children and 6 adults, and the topic of how to keep high-capacity rapid-fire weapons out of the hands of mentally unstable people.
DeleteIt's not like this country lacks other shootings to discuss.
American exceptionalism is a myth. The NRA is determined to turn the US into the wild west but no black hats to tall the bad guys from the good guys. sarah palin you traitorous whore this is part of your doing, You own that.
ReplyDeleteJohn Russell Houser's Tea Party Nation page:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.teapartynation.com/profile/JohnRussellHouser?xg_source=activity
What say you, Sarah Palin, 'don't retreat reload'?
I'm sure this wingnut held sarah in the highest regard.
Delete"John Russell Houser is now a member of Tea Party Nation
DeleteJun 20, 2013
Welcome Them! "
If you tell people they need to be armed, they will feel the need to arm themselves.
ReplyDeleteI'm not talking about the people in the movie theater, I'm talking about the shooter. The NRA thinks we should still be living in the Wild West, where the answer to any little slight or fright is to show your pistol. Who knows why this shooter chose to open fire in a movie theater, but it's part of the larger problem of worshiping guns as the ultimate tool to solve any problem.
Is this finally going to wake up those boneheads who brag about open-carry in stores and malls and public places? Where is this all going to end?
ReplyDeleteWhen hearing about this on the news last night, I just thought this has to be the last straw for parents and citizens across the country who worry about their kids going to these places. No place is sacred anymore. These are families that are being unmercifully targeted by a guy who has his RIGHTS to carry. This week yet again produces more funerals for innocents. But ask for improved safety gun laws, and the right-wing gets their backs up, accusing common sense to rule.
Wonder how Nancy and David French and Dakota Meyer will spin this one. They are all for everyone armed. WIll they disparage the movie goers because they weren't armed and blame them for their own deaths?
"Is this finally going to wake up those boneheads who brag about open-carry in stores and malls and public places?"
DeleteNO! This will just give them more reason to scream that everyone should be armed.
I tried to start a reasonable, rational discussion on Facebook about gun safety and was told, snidely, that even raising the question of whether we need better gun laws means I want to take away everyone's guns (even though I don't, and I had explicitly stated that). NRA propaganda has been so effective that people get hysterical when you even broach the subject. Apparently all these deaths are acceptable casualties in the name of the greater good of Git Yer Filthy Paws Offa My Guns, You Evil Gubmint.
DeleteIf the massacre of 6 and 7 year olds in Sandy Hook didn't create a massive gun control movement, I fear nothing will.
DeleteLeland and 8:37 are right...it will only give the NRA and gun supporters more justification for arming everyone.
As much as I love this country, there are times when I am truly ashamed of it.
On first reports last night, they were reporting Bobby Jindal was on his way to Lafayette. Once there, he gets himself planted right behind the press conference team and it was so obvious he's all about his campaign appearances. When intereviewed, he had nothing to offer except immediately trying to turn this tragedy into a hero story about the woman who covered her friend and because of that, got shot in the leg. He can't even wait until the shock is over, and families have been notified; he's got to get his presidential thang on, at the expense of dead victims. Look at me! I'm here! I'm available for that 3:00 am call! I'm calling for prayer, see? Aren't I a nice guy?
ReplyDeleteI agree. It was all about getting a notable sound bite.
DeleteReminds me of Giuliani at 911
DeleteIt took me a long time to understand that gun humpers really do value their dick extenders over human life. If they had to choose between losing a child (including their own) to gun violence, or being subject to any form of gun control, they'd choose the latter unhesitatingly. BTW, this is why my eyes just about roll out of my head when i read the paeons to Sunny Johnston here. I I'll never be able to forget the pregnancy photos of her posing with some kind of evil looking assault rifle lovingly cradled against her bared baby bump. It was sick and, to me, depraved. But that is the kind of attitude preventing meaningful gun control... equating guns WITH human life.
ReplyDeleteThere is also the self-serving argument that gun control is meaningless because it can't be enforced because people ignore the laws. Some do, of course-- some people ignore laws against all sorts of anti-social, unsafe, and criminal behavior. But you don't hear calls for such laws to be abandoned simply because some people ignore them, now do you? No, only when it comes to dick extenders do you hear that rationale. Gee, I wonder why. Not.
Jealous Bri$$le, SHUT THE FUC_ UP about Sunny!
DeleteIt's entirely possible to have a problem with both women. And I do.
DeleteI think Sunny is a very nice, hardworking, loving person. However, I didn't like her posing with that rifle or that she and Levi named their beautiful, sweet newborn baby girl after a gun.
DeleteI think we are capable of having mixed feelings about things and people, aren't we?
What does Sunny Johnston have to do with a shooting in Louisiana? Why are you so jealous of her? Maybe you should direct your angst towards the "DON'T RETREAT, RELOAD" / "DOES IT KICK, DADDY" pink gun toting imbecile named Sarah Palin, Troll.
DeleteOf course, this is a gun culture... and women are just as much a part of it as are men. Generations of brainwashing and advertising have saturated us with the concept that good parenting means having loaded guns at hand.
DeleteLook at this ad for Iver Johnson illustrating a little girl sleeping with a loaded revolver and a dolly.
http://www.visualnews.com/2015/07/02/tbt-10-vintage-ads-featuring-creepy-kids/
Classic Americana!
There is a difference btw guns for hunting and defending yourself from bears as opposed to just carrying them around at Walmart because you can.
DeleteThe Johnstons have guns for the former reason, which is IMO entirely legitimate.
Thank you 7:14 and 7:37. Couldn't have said it any better.
DeleteShame on you who did not heed the memo that worshipping at the shrine of saint sunny johnston is mandatory at im.
Delete@12:26 PM Shame on you who are so jealous of Sunny Johnston that you attack her even when she is not a part of the discussion. Shame on you who ass-kiss Sarah and Bristol Palin and donate money for their slush fund and pregnancy needs.
DeleteShame on Bristol Palin for all of the babies with unknown Daddies. Shame on Bristol 'born again christian' Palin and the company she keeps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw-4Igu_Km0
https://brightviolet.wordpress.com/tag/sarah-palins-pregnancy/
http://s406.photobucket.com/user/WestCorrespondent/media/Bristol%20Palin/PalinBristol101008-1.jpg.html
7:37 AM It is time for you to look in the mirror, you will find your problems there.
Delete7:14/7:37/11:43 Are you 3 trolls in bed with each other? You seem to be having a jealousy orgy.
DeleteAre you serious? Who in their right fucking mind would be jealous of a nobody like her? Smh
DeleteIf everyone in movie theatres had loaded guns, last night would have ended the same. The victims had their backs to the shooter and never expected this. The gunman made sure he was in the back row, so he could get as many unsuspecting victims.
ReplyDeleteDo NRA lovers think that even an armed individual has his trigger-itchy finger on his holster while he's eating popcorn and enjoying a movie in a friendly place? People who attend places of entertainment and family fun don't 'defending' on their minds. Those people in the theatre, whether armed or not, never had a chance. They were shot in the back. No one is safe anymore. Schools, colleges, churches, games, malls, and I dare not mention other places that these monsters with guns bent on killing innocents might get ideas from. Who is safe anymore? My God, where is reason?????
No. It would have been worse quite a bit worse with much higher casualties.
DeleteThe old guy was more like a sniper. Not much you can do when you don't see someone behind you in the dark.
DeleteAll 204 mass shootings so far this year in America, mapped
ReplyDeletehttp://qz.com/463260/all-204-mass-shootings-so-far-this-year-in-america-mapped/
A movie theater shooting that left three dead is Louisiana’s eighth mass shooting this year
http://qz.com/463096/a-shooting-in-a-movie-theater-that-left-three-dead-is-louisianas-eighth-mass-shooting-this-year/
75 mass shootings since Sandy Hook, in one map
ReplyDeletehttp://www.vox.com/2015/6/25/8836735/map-mass-shootings-sandy-hook
Here it is... He was a teabagger!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/louisiana-gunman-was-a-confederate-flag-flying-tea-party-kook-who-hated-obama-and-admired-hitler/
LA's governor is an idiot. He's anti President Obama and putting into effect common-sense gun laws. He actually went on national TV and called for prayers! And, he's running for POTUS. What a joke!
ReplyDeleteAsshole was a Tea Party member. -SJP Media probably won't mention that.
ReplyDeleteYep.
DeleteCNN just said he had no political affiliation. BS
Yes, he was mentally ill. But he was also a Confederate flag waving teapartier.
Louisiana gunman was a Tea Partier who hated Obama, admired Hitler and wanted women to shut up in church
ReplyDelete...Posts on other forums reveal Houser’s belief that the U.S. was racist against white people, sterilization should be mandatory for welfare recipients and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke was a more historically significant figure than the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Hitler accomplished far more than any other through ‘pragmatically forming,'” Houser posted in January 2015.
He wrote something of a manifesto in March 2013, when he asked for help channeling his anger and frustration as a white Christian man living under President Barack Obama.
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/louisiana-gunman-was-a-confederate-flag-flying-tea-party-kook-who-hated-obama-and-admired-hitler/
Between this and idiots like Dakota saying we need to militarize Americans (looked like FOX was trying to cut the mic) I am truly concerned about my children growing up in this gun culture.
ReplyDeleteSeriously have you seen this interview? Almost as bad as Palin and the "bush doctrine" interview.
http://insider.foxnews.com/2015/07/23/obama-says-new-citizens-can-skip-oath-defend-us-medal-honor-recipient-dakota-meyer-reacts
The USA -- a good place to stay the hell away from, and many of my snowbird friends are seeking Caribbean islands instead of Florida and Arizona, for their 6-month sojourn.
DeleteI don't blame you Maple. Such a sad statement since I truly love this place.
DeleteIf you think Dakota Meyer is a dummy, you should check out the commenters on his FB page. It's quite the brain trust over there.
DeleteDakota is just as hateful and 1/2 witted as sarah and bristles. Too bad the marriage fell through, perhaps their combined IQ is triple digit.
DeleteI overheard some idiots at the next table at lunch going on and on about the secret muslim in the white house changing the wording of naturalized citizen's oath. Thanks for posting this, I kind of had a feeling it was from Fox News, but not from a US flag unionjack undies wearing medal of honor recipient.
DeleteMystery Solved.
Right-Wingers' Solution to Movie Theater Shootings: More Guns
ReplyDelete'lets all refuse to call it a "mass shooting" call it a "gun free zone shooting"'
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122364/right-wingers-solution-movie-theater-shootings-more-guns
It was a 'gun free zone' shooting by a right winger.
DeleteHow anger is handled in America: point and shoot a readily available weapon. Seems that there are a lot of angry, unstable people out there with access to firearms. How did they get this way? I blame people like Sarah Palin; other "the-end-is-near" proponents; and FOX News. Their constant rhetoric about people coming to take away our rights and the fear they have instilled in the many, I would call "Good Americans" (like Good Germans) has given rise to these heinous mass shootings.
ReplyDeleteI wish that people had to go through a series of tests and classes before they are allowed to purchase guns. (Sorta like getting a drivers' license but more thorough.) And like a drivers' license, the privilege (not right) would be taken away for proven violations or misuse. (I know; I'm dreaming.)
I'm sure they will attempt to blame it on Obama by once again claiming he has caused a huge increase in racial tension. I know, WTF...
ReplyDeleteA Fan of Hitler, Neo-Nazis, and Anti-Government Conspiracy Theories
ReplyDeleteRead more at http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/44866_Lafayette_Theater_Shooter-_A_Fan_of_Hitler_Neo-Nazis_and_Anti-Government_Conspiracy_Theories#tYVfT6GsHQhfQVdG.99
The fact that the shooter was a member of the Tea Party Nation just shows to go ya how powerful ISIS really is in that they managed to turn even a 'ril 'mercan into a jihadist terrorist.
ReplyDeleteMass Killings
ReplyDeletehttp://www.usatoday.com/topic/f94c42f0-c41d-4b8e-bcc0-8c23f4624884/mass-killings-in-america/
Virginia "Gentleman" at C4P posted gleefully just after the shootings were announced that "the shooter was SHOT DEAD! An example of TRUE American justice!" He didn't know the shooter had killed himself. And really, who would revel in the death of another human?
ReplyDeleteFor someone who brags almost daily about how he is "spending time with my Lord" and "spending time communing with my Savior" he never demonstrates Christ's message.
He was at the theatre.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/24/people-just-started-to-rampage-out-of-the-building-like-a-stampede/
‘Our hearts are shattered': Devastated husband pays tribute to boutique owner killed by Trainwreck gunman alongside student voted school‘s 'most beautiful' in movie theater shooting
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3172910/Louisiana-theater-gunman-John-Houser-kills-two-Trainwreck-screening-Lafayette.html
After the hideous annihilation of 20 children in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, more than 100 new gun laws were passed by state legislatures.
But Louisiana actually LOOSENED restrictions on guns, making it easier for people who wanted to carry concealed weapons to stay anonymous.
Jindal is primarily responsible for all this.
This is a guy awarded an A+ rating from the NRA – meaning they absolutely love him for his pro-gun speeches and legislative behavior.
Jindal voted to stop gun manufacturers being sued for misuse of their weaponry, and he co-sponsored banning gun registration in Washington, D.C.
Under his governance, Louisiana has approved numerous pro-gun laws including allowing off-duty cops to carry guns in schools and civilians to carry concealed weapons into churches; and it has introduced a law levying fines and jail sentences on people, including journalists, who identify concealed-carry permit holders.
After the Charleston church massacre last month, Jindal disgracefully branded President Obama 'shameful' for having the temerity to ask for new gun control laws in America.
'Within 24 hours we’ve got the president trying to score cheap political points,' he sneered. 'Now is the time to be hugging these families, to be praying for these families, now is the time to be coming together.'
Sound familiar?
It’s pretty much exactly what Jindal said last night, and what he and his pro-gun cronies always say when there’s a mass shooting. It’s all about praying and hugging, not trying to stop another one happening.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3173327/PIERS-MORGAN-Spare-crocodile-tears-Governor-Jindal-ve-got-blood-massacre-NRA-approved-hands.html
Again, we must thank Our Lord and Savior the Holy Grail of the GOP Saint Ronnie for closing down the mental institutions.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter and her friend went to the show last week and i seriously worried what if there was a shooter.We live in a fucked beyond redemption country.
ReplyDeleteThese are the crazies we must thank Sarah Palin and the Koch brothers for creating.
ReplyDeleteThey will say Obama had it done to take our guns. You can't win with that type and the country is full of them. Those are the same bunch who aimed weapons at the Federal law enforcement over that crazy cow dude.
ReplyDeleteDebunking Another Right Wing Talking Point: Is the Lafayette Movie Theater Really an Official “Gun-Free Zone?”
ReplyDeleteDo you see movie theaters in that list? No, you don’t. So where are the right wing media sites and blogs getting this talking point?
It’s not a law. It’s the Grand Theaters’ policy:
OUR THEATRE PROHIBITS
• Outside food or drink
• Smoking including e-cigarettes
• Possession of firearms or weapons of any kind regardless of whether openly or concealed, with or without a permit
So conservatives now want to dictate to private companies how they can run their businesses, including demanding the “right” to carry loaded weapons into movie theaters. Such lovely people.
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/44868_Debunking_Another_Right_Wing_Talking_Point-_Is_the_Lafayette_Movie_Theater_Really_an_Official_Gun-Free_Zone#rss-sm
I read that one of the victims, a teacher, had the presence of mind to pull the fire alarm, a heroic act that may have saved one or more lives.
ReplyDeleteOh, when Pyush comes to shove, he sure does know how to dance around the issue of reasonable, sane gun control laws. Yes, the perp had mental issues, he owned a bar and got his liquor license revoked, so he put up a swastika sign to protest. His wife and kid knew he had "mental issues" and removed all the guns and knives from the home. He was refused a concealed carry permit because of his medical history, the judge ordered anger management classes, which he somehow skipped. Then he legally bought a gun. What's wrong with this picture?
Some brainiac was interviewed from the neighborhood the theater was located in. he said "round these parts, folks hunt rabbits, deer, pheasants, squirrels and other animals, hunting is a big part of our culture"
Again, I ask, with all respect to legal responsible gun owners and hunters, When hunting with a automatic weapon, how much of the flesh is usable? Unless one's hunting for ground meat, wouldn't hunting make more sense by leaving the smallest portion to waste? Where's the "sport" when the animal has zero chance to be tracked, sited, and shot ?
An automatic weapon is for people with poor aim or people intent on killing as many people as possible, as quickly as possible
When Pyush comes to shove, Jindal says now isn't the time to talk about guns, now's the time for prayers. Yes, Mr Jindal, do keep that in mind when speaking to those left behind to mourn, I'm sure they appreciate your "not talking about guns" and focusing on "prayers". .