Three people have been killed and seven others injured after a man opened fire at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana. One of the deceased is the suspect, who turned the gun on himself.

According to witnesses the man opened fire some 20 minutes into the movie Train Wreck, which was being screened at the Grand Theatre in in Lafayette.

"He wasn't saying anything. I didn't hear anybody screaming either," a witness told The Advertiser, describing the shooter as "an older white man."


Comment: Update: 59 year-old John Russell Houser has been identified as the suspected lone gunman, Louisiana police announced on Friday.


The shooter eventually turned the gun on himself, before authorities were able to approach him.


Lafayette police initially received the call about the shooting, which involved "multiple victims," at around 7:30pm local time. Multiple police teams were deployed to the scene, surrounded and swept the movie theater.


After police entered the building to "engage the shooter" they were able to confirm that he was unresponsive and likely dead, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft told reporters. The situation at the theater was "contained," he added.

A bomb squad was deployed to the scene after police identified the suspect's car and saw "suspicious objects" inside. The surrounding area was evacuated with witnesses reporting the presence of a bomb disposal robot.

The identity of the shooter, who was acting alone, has not officially been revealed thus far, but Craft confirmed that the shooter was a white man in his 50s.


Meanwhile an ambulance official confirmed to AP that in total eight people with gun wounds had been taken to hospital, two of whom were proclaimed dead on arrival - the gunman and one other person.

Another victim - one of the three in a critical condition - later died in hospital.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said that he had been in contact with local police and set off for Lafayette to oversee the investigation of the incident.

"Troopers are working closely with the Lafayette Police Department as well as numerous other agencies to provide assistance and investigate the shooting," Louisiana State Police said in a statement.

Almost three years ago, on July 20, 2012, another mass shooting took placee at the premier of 'Batman: The Dark Knight Rises' in Aurora, Colorado.

The gunman set off tear gas grenades and shot the audience at random with multiple firearms, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others at a midnight screening.

The suspect, James Eagan Holmes, was arrested in his car which had been parked outside the cinema minutes later. His trial began on April 27, 2015. Holmes confessed to the shooting, but pleaded not guilty on the grounds of insanity. Prosecutors are currently seeking the imposition of the death penalty.