Lafayette Movie Theater Shooting: Terrorism Fears Raised After Six Shot In Louisiana Theater
A movie theater shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana, has left at least six people injured and the shooter reportedly dead in what many fear to be another terrorist attack.
Details on the shooting are still coming in, with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal confirming the shooting late on Thursday evening, WWLTV reported. Two people were confirmed dead as of Thursday at 10 p.m. ET, including the shooter.
Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope confirmed that six people were injured in the Lafayette movie theater shooting and that the shooter had taken his own life.
Lafayette Police are working a shooting at the Grande Theater on Johnston Street.
— Lafayette PD (LA) (@LafayettePD_LA) July 24, 2015
The shooting reportedly took place at The Grand 16 Theater during the movie Trainwreck. Police were still trying to sort out the situation more than an hour after the shooting took place.
“It really is a chaotic scene here,” Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said (via KDVR).
Katie Domingue was inside the movie theater and said an older man stood up about 20 minutes into the movie and began shooting.
“We heard a loud pop we thought was a firecracker,” she said.
Domingue said she heard about six shots before running to the nearest exit.
“He wasn’t saying anything. I didn’t hear anybody screaming either,” Domingue said.
While police have not officially released any details on the shooting suspect, Bipartisan Report noted that witnesses say the shooter was an older, white man.
JUST IN: Survivors of the #Lafayette shooting say a “older white man” is the shooter. Not a surprise. Always is. pic.twitter.com/OPP8JHEqUN
— Bipartisan Report (@Bipartisanism) July 24, 2015
Witness says an “older white man” stood up during screening of “Trainwreck” and started shooting. #Lafayette
— Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) July 24, 2015
While police have not yet released information on the Lafayette movie theater shooting, online many are raising fears that it could be an attack of terrorism or domestic terrorism. Last week, a shooting in Chattanooga left six Marines dead in what authorities referred to as an act of domestic terrorism. Another incident of domestic terrorism preceded that, with a shooter opening fire inside a prayer service in a Charleston.
