A 59-year-old man once hospitalized for psychiatric care was identified by authorities on Friday as the gunman who fatally shot two people in a rampage at a central Louisiana movie theater before killing himself as police closed in.
John Russell Houser, who bore a volatile relationship with family and railed against the U.S. government online, opened fire on Thursday with a .40 caliber handgun about 20 minutes into the comedy film "Trainwreck," sending panicked theatergoers ducking behind seats and running for the exits. One woman pulled the fire alarm.
"This is a normal movie theater in a normal part of a normal town. This is Anywhere, USA," said Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal, a presidential contender who visited the crime scene in Lafayette. "This just shows these senseless acts of violence can literally happen anywhere."