At least three people have been killed and more than 6 have been wounded after a man opened fire at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana during a Thursday evening screening of Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck. Details of the incident continue to emerge as authorities investigate the scene of our country’s latest shooting, but Trainwreck star Amy Schumer immediately took to Twitter to offer her condolences to the victims in this tragedy.
The incident in Lafayette occurs weeks after a lone gunman opened fire on a church in Charleston, South Carolina, and days after James Holmes was informed that his criminal actions in an Aurora, Colorado movie theater were "cruel enough to justify the death penalty," according to The AP. There will be no trial for the as-yet-unidentified Lafayette shooter because the man reportedly took his own life during the shooting.
Details on the incident are still coming in. So far, we know (via CNN) that the suspected shooter was a 58-year-old white male who used a handgun to fire into a crowd of reportedly 100 patrons at the Grand Theatre 16 in Lafayette, Louisiana. Authorities on the scene say no clear motive is evident, though the investigation is ongoing.
As you can imagine, the response to the latest U.S. shooting – particularly another one in a place of refuge like a church or a theater – was heated on Twitter, where opinionated users debated stricter gun control laws, and prayed for the families of the innocent victims. The American Film Institute took the high road, issuing the following statement to Deadline:
Going to a summer movie is a celebration of the American creative spirit and one of our nation’s most beloved pastimes. Let us stand together in these times of tragedy and embrace what is precious to us — churches, schools and places where the arts can send our spirits soaring. As a national community of artists and audiences, AFI offers our heartfelt sympathies to the victims in Louisiana and their families."
Lafayette differs from the tragedy in Aurora in this sense – on the surface, Judd Apatow and Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck has no direct connection, at the moment, to the motives of the shooter. Back in 2012, James Holmes specifically targeted a screening of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises to further his own mysterious agenda. We will continue to track the details of this tragic case as they develop. For now, our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the Lafayette, Louisiana community who were affected by this tragic event.
