A gunman opened fire at a movie theater in the US state of Louisiana late Thursday, fatally shooting two people and wounding seven others before killing himself, police said.
The shooting comes as a jury deliberates the death penalty for the gunman in a 2012 theater massacre in Colorado that left 12 dead and 70 injured.
“Whenever we hear about these senseless acts of violence it makes us both furious and sad at the same time,” Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal told reporters.
“There`s no good reason why this type of evil should intrude on the lives of people who are just out for entertainment.”
Police said they have identified the shooter as a 58-year-old white male, but did not release his name.
He opened fire randomly on fellow movie goers about 30 minutes into a showing of “Trainwreck” at the Grand 16 theater in Lafayette, Louisiana witnesses said.
About 100 people reportedly were in the theater when the gunman opened fire with a handgun.
Jindal met with some of the victims at a local hospital and said praised their heroism.
One teacher threw herself in front of her friend to shield her from the bullets. The friend was shot in the leg, but managed to “have the presence of mind” to pull a fire alarm in an effort to warn others of the danger, Jindal said.
“Even in the worst of times, it brings out the best in people,” Jindal told.
