Lafayette Shooting: Gunman Kills Innocent Civilians at Local Movie Theater in Louisiana

Photo of Movie Theater Seats
A photo of red movie theater seats taken on May 2010. |

Three dead. Seven wounded. It was a night like any other, until a white gunman opened fire on civilians at The Grand 16 Theatre in Lafayette, Louisiana on Thursday, July 23. The killer, who has been identified as a 58-year-old male, used a handgun to slay his victims.

Authorities have not released the name of the shooter in order to not "affect the integrity" of the ongoing investigation. Col. Michael Edmonson of the Louisiana State Police said that there was an estimated 100 people inside the movie theater when the shooting began.

The gunman killed two people and wounded seven others, before committing suicide. Edmonson told CNN that "there's nothing to believe that there was any kind of motive." The shooting occurred sharply before 8:30 p.m. ET on 3141 Johnston Street.

"Whenever we hear about these senseless acts of violence, it makes us both furious and sad at the same time. This is an awful night for Lafayette, this is an awful night for Louisiana, this is an awful night for the United States. But we will get through this," said Lousiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

The Grand was screening twelve movies on Thursday night. They were playing "Pixels,' "Ant-Man,' "Trainwreck,' "Minions,' "Terminator Genisys,' "Ted 2,' "Jurassic World,' "Paper Towns,' "Southpaw,' "The Gallows,' "Magic Mike XXL,' and "Inside Out.'