- Shooting at the Grand Theater in Louisiana
- ‘Lone white male’ gunman, 58, is dead
- At least seven people injured, some with life-threatening wounds
- Summary: what we know so far
Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, after visiting survivors in hospital in Lafayette, told reporters about a teacher who he said saved the life of her friend and “literally jumped over her” to shield her from the gunman.
Some of the victims were seriously injured:
Barack Obama, speaking shortly before the Lafayette shooting, said he is “distressed” he has been unable to strengthen gun-safety laws in America, acknowledging it will be the unfinished business of his presidency.
You can read our full report on his comments here:
What we know so far
- Three people have died in a shooting at the Grand Theater in Lafayette, Louisiana.
- Among the dead was the gunman, whom police described as a “lone white male” aged 58, with a “criminal history” that was apparently not a recent one. His identity has not been released.
- Police said the shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
- At least seven people have been injured, with some of them suffering life-threatening wounds. One woman has had surgery and is said by police to be “not doing well”.
- The area around the theater has been cleared while bomb squad officers investigate a suspicious package in the gunman’s car and a backpack inside the theater.
- Police say there is no secondary shooter.
- No motive has been put forward for the attack.
- The weapon has not yet been recovered from the scene but police say it was a handgun.
- Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal said two teachers were in the theater – one of whomjumped in front of her colleague and was shot, but still managed to pull a fire alarm that alerted authorities and “saved many lives”.
- Amy Schumer, whose movie Trainwreck was showing in the theater where the shooting took place, has tweeted her shock at the evening’s events.
Updated
Paige Bearb, who was in the movie theater next door to where the shooting took place, has told CNN the person sitting next to her had received a call from someone who was unable to enter the theater because the doors were locked due to a suspected active shooter.
When the lights came on and the alarm was sounded, Bearb said people in the theater started to run.
Bearb said she saw a woman with a gunshot wound to the leg being loaded into an ambulance.
Of the seven people injured, one has been released from hospital, officials have confirmed.
Police chief Jim Craft said one woman had required surgery and was “not doing well”.
He said victims’s ages ranged from late teens to 60s.
Shooter had 'criminal history' – police
Jim Craft, police chief in Lafayette, says the gunman did have a criminal history, but “nothing recent”.
He says police are still working to confirm that the identity they have for him is correct. They are not making that identity public yet, and Craft urged people to be cautious on social media:
But he reiterated that they believe the shooter acted alone:
He says police have not yet recovered any weapon from the scene.
Colonel Mike Edmonson of Louisiana state police also says there is a backpack and “several items” in the theater itself that could be suspicious. These all need to be checked before crime scene investigators can begin their work.
Updated
'Suspicious' items in gunman's car – police
Police say they have located the shooter’s car across the street from the theater parking lot and out of an “abundance of caution” called in the bomb squad.
Those officials have seen something in the car that “looks suspicious” and people have been moved back from the scene.
They are trying to secure access to the car and the trunk.
Updated
The Louisiana Advertiser reports that eyewitness Katie Domingue was at the screening where the shooting took place:
Domingue said she saw “an older white man” standing up and shooting down into the theater, but not in her direction:
Domingue told the newspaper she heard about six shots before she and her fiancé ran to the nearest exit, leaving behind her shoes and purse.
Sandy Phillips, whose daughter Jessica Ghawi was among the 12 people killed in theAurora theater massacre in 2012, has tweeted her shock at this latest shooting:
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