The gunman who opened fire inside a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, Thursday night, was John Russel Houser, police said at a news conference this morning. 
 
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 Houser, 59, who killed himself, is among three people who died, police said. The other two were Mayci Breaux, 21, of Franklin, Louisiana, who died at the theater, and Jillian Johnson, 33, of Lafayette, who died at the hospital. 
 
 Nine others were injured, police said. 
 
 The shooting occurred at the Grand 16 Theater on Johnston Street where The Associated Press said Amy Schumer's "Trainwreck" was playing. There were 300 people in the building at the time of the shooting, police said, and 160 people have been interviewed. 
 
 Police said 25 tickets were sold for the particular movie where the shooting occurred, and Houser bought one of them before entering. 
 
 Houser is from Alabama and has no known connection to Lafayette, police said. Houser was described as a “drifter” by police, who said he had likely been in Lafayette since early July, staying at a motel. The motive for the shooting was unclear and police said they may never find one. 
 
 "It is apparent he was intent on shooting and escaping" before police forced him back into the theater where he shot himself to death, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said at the news conference, explaining that his 1995 blue Lincoln Continental was positioned near the exit. 
 
 Police found wigs and glasses in his car and motel room, Craft said. 
 
 Conditions of those injured range from non-life-threatening to critical and their ages ranged from the late teens to their 60s, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said. Seven victims remained in the hospital Friday. 
 
 Paul Kieu/The Daily Advertiser/Associated Press 
 
 Gunfire broke out around 7:30 p.m. in one of the movie theater's auditoriums, Lafayette Police told ABC News. 
 
 "We heard a loud pop we thought was a firecracker," witness Katie Domingue told the Daily Advertiser, according to the AP. She said a man shot down into the theater. "He wasn't saying anything. I didn't hear anybody screaming either," Domingue said, according to the AP. 
 
 When police arrived, they heard shooting, Craft said. 
 
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 The shooting was contained to one theater, according to Craft. Thirteen shell casings have been found in the theater. 
 
 Authorities checked suspicious packages inside the shooter's car and the movie theater, but no explosive devices were found, Craft said. 
 
 Paul Kieu/The Daily Advertiser/Associated Press 
 
 Treylan Arceneaux via AP 
 
 The FBI said in a statement Thursday night: "The FBI New Orleans Division is aware of a shooting incident that occurred at a Lafayette area movie theater in which FBI Agents, along with state and local law enforcement have responded. Presently a joint law enforcement coordination is under way and further details will be shared once the information becomes available." 
 
 The theater and its parent company, the Southern Theatres, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 
 
 The shooting was one week after James Holmes was convicted of killing 12 people and wounding 70 others in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. 
 
 Get real-time updates as this story unfolds. To start, just "star" this story in ABC News' phone app. Download ABC News for iPhone here or ABC News for Android here. ||||| LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — The movie theater gunman who stood up about 20 minutes into the showing of "Trainwreck" and began firing into the crowd, killing two people, was described as a drifter from Alabama whose escape plan was thwarted by police officers who arrived almost immediately, authorities said Friday. The gunman killed himself. 
 
 Police tape marls off the area of a deadly shooting at the Grand Theatre in Lafayette, La., Thursday, July 23, 2015. (AP Photo/Denny Culbert) (Associated Press) 
 
 Lafayette Police Department and Louisiana State Police units block an entrance road following a shooting at The Grand Theatre in Lafayette, La., Thursday, July 23, 2015. (Paul Kieu/The Daily Advertiser... (Associated Press) 
 
 Police tape surrounds the scene following a shooting at a movie theater Thursday, July 23, 2015, in Lafayette, La. (Treylan Arceneaux via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal speaks with the media following a deadly shooting at the Grand Theatre in Lafayette, La., Thursday, July 23, 2015. (AP Photo/Denny Culbert) (Associated Press) 
 
 Law enforcement and other emergency personnel respond to the scene of a shooting at the Grand Theatre on Thursday, July 23, 2015, in Lafayette, La. (Leslie Westbrook/The Advocate via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 Law enforcement and other emergency personnel respond to the scene of a shooting at the Grand Theatre on Thursday, July 23, 2015, in Lafayette, La. (Leslie Westbrook/The Advocate via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 Law enforcement personnel stand near a police line at The Grand Theatre following a deadly shooting in Lafayette, La., Thursday, July 23, 2015. (Paul Kieu/The Daily Advertiser via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 A Lafayette Police Department vehicle blocks an entrance at the Grand Theatre in Lafayette, La., following a shooting, Thursday, July 23, 2015. (Paul Kieu/The Daily Advertiser via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 Law enforcement and other emergency personnel respond to the scene of a deadly shooting at the Grand Theatre on Thursday, July 23, 2015, in Lafayette, La. (Leslie Westbrook/The Advocate via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 Law enforcement and other emergency personnel respond to the scene of a deadly shooting at the Grand Theatre on Thursday, July 23, 2015, in Lafayette, La. (Leslie Westbrook/The Advocate via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 An officer stands guard near the scene of a deadly shooting at the Grand Theatre on Thursday, July 23, 2015, in Lafayette, La. (Leslie Westbrook/The Advocate via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 Nine people were wounded in the attack Thursday night. The gunman, identified as 59-year-old John Russel Houser, fired 13 times from a handgun, police said. He had parked his car by the theater's exit door and initially tried to escape by blending into the fleeing crowd, but turned back when he saw police heading inside from the parking lot, authorities said. Officers tailing him back into the theater then heard a single gunshot and found him dead inside, police said. 
 
 "The quick law enforcement response forced him back into the theater," Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said. 
 
 Authorities did not release a motive. They said Houser had been in the Lafayette area since early July, staying at a motel where they found disguises, including glasses and wigs. 
 
 Police said the gunman was by himself and started the rampage by shooting the two people sitting in front of him. 
 
 At least one theatergoer described the attack, saying an older man stood up about 20 minutes into the 7:10 p.m. showing of "Trainwreck" at the Grand 16 theater in Lafayette and began shooting. 
 
 "We heard a loud pop we thought was a firecracker," Katie Domingue told The Advertiser. 
 
 "He wasn't saying anything. I didn't hear anybody screaming either," said Domingue, who added that she heard about six shots before she and her fiance ran to the nearest exit, leaving behind her shoes and purse. 
 
 Stories of heroism immediately began to emerge with presidential hopeful Gov. Bobby Jindal, who traveled to the scene within hours of the shooting, telling reporters that a teacher who was in the theater jumped in front of a second teacher, saving her life. The second teacher then managed to pull a fire alarm to alert other moviegoers, he said. 
 
 "Her friend literally jumped over her and, by her account, actually saved her life," Jindal said. 
 
 President Barack Obama was briefed on the shooting aboard Air Force One by Lisa Monaco, his homeland security adviser, while on his way to Africa for a two-nation visit, the White House said. 
 
 Obama asked his team to keep him updated on the investigation and the status of those wounded. He also offered his thoughts and prayers to the community and to the families of those killed. 
 
 The shooting took place a week after the man who shot and killed 12 people at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., was convicted and on the very day a jury recommended the death penalty. 
 
 Nine people ranging in age from their late teens to their late 60s were wounded, Craft said. At least one of those was in critical condition and being operated on at an area hospital, he said. Two were released from the hospital and the conditions of the others were not immediately known. 
 
 Craft previously said the gunman had a criminal history, but he hasn't given details about it. State police superintendent Col. Michael D. Edmonson said there were about 100 people inside the theater at the time of the shooting. 
 
 Early Friday, about a dozen law enforcement personnel were gathered at a Motel 6 in Lafayette. Louisiana State Police spokesman Maj. Doug Cain said the investigation led them to a room at the Motel 6. A bomb squad swept the room before going in as a precaution. 
 
 About a dozen police personnel could be seen outside the motel. At one point, an officer carried out a cardboard box from the room and other officers could be seen knocking on neighboring doors. 
 
 Edmonson added that police believe the gunman fired shots only at the theater and had not waged an attack anywhere else beforehand. 
 
 "We have no reason to believe that this individual acted beyond this location here," Edmonson said. 
 
 He said police saw something suspicious inside the shooter's car and that a bomb-sniffing dog "hit on three different locations" in the vehicle, "so out of an abundance of caution we brought in the bomb squad." 
 
 No explosives were found in the car or in the theater complex. 
 
 "Trainwreck" star Amy Schumer tweeted: "My heart is broken and all my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Louisiana." The comedy stars Schumer as a magazine writer who decides to live a life of promiscuity after her father convinces her that monogamy isn't realistic, but in spite of her best efforts, finds herself falling in love with one of her interview subjects. 
 
 Gov. Jindal called the shooting "an awful night for Louisiana." 
 
 "What we can do now is we can pray," Jindal said. "We can hug these families. We can shower them with love, thoughts and prayers." 
 
 Lafayette is about 60 miles west of the state capital of Baton Rouge. Outside the movie theater complex hours after the shooting, a couple of dozen police cars were still at the scene, which authorities had cordoned off with police tape as onlookers took photos with their cellphones. 
 
 A small group of theater employees stood outside the police perimeter. A man who identified himself as a general manager declined to be interviewed: "We would appreciate it if you could give us some space," he said. 
 
 Landry Gbery (pronounced Berry), 26, of Lafayette, was watching a different movie, "Self/less" at the time of the shooting when the lights came up and a voice over the intercom told everyone there was an emergency and they needed to leave. 
 
 Gbery said he never heard gunshots, and assumed the emergency was a fire until he got outside and saw a woman lying on the ground. 
 
 "I was really anxious for everybody at that point," Gbery said. "Fortunately I was lucky. I took the right exit." 
 
 Tanya Clark was at the concession stand in the lobby when she saw people screaming and running past her. She said she immediately grabbed her 5-year-old daughter and ran. 
 
 "In that moment, you don't think about anything," Clark, 36, told The New York Times. "That's when you realize that your wallet and phone are not important." 
 
 Clark's son Robert Martinez said he saw an older woman run past with blood streaming down her leg, and screaming that someone had shot her. 
 
 The Louisiana shooting occurred three years after James Holmes entered a crowded movie theater in suburban Denver and opened fire during the premier of a Batman film, killing 12 people and wounding 70 others. 
 
 A jury last week quickly convicted Holmes on 165 counts of murder, attempted murder and other charges, rejecting defense arguments that he was insane and suffering delusions that drove him to the July 20, 2012, attack. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Melinda Deslatte in Lafayette, Louisiana, and Kevin McGill in New Orleans contributed to this report. ||||| Facebook 
 
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 A "drifter" sat silently in a movie theater for 20 minutes before shooting 11 other patrons in an incident that was over in a matter of seconds, witnesses and police in Louisiana said early Friday. 
 
 John 'Rusty' Houser, 59, was seated in the theater "just like everybody else" before firing 13 rounds, killing two people and wounding nine others with a .45-caliber handgun, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft told reporters. Houser later took his own life. 
 
 The two people he shot dead were identified Friday as local women Mayci Breaux, 21, and Jillian Johnson, 33. One of the wounded remained in critical condition, Craft said. 
 
 "He wasn't erratic or nervous … just walking down the aisle, randomly firing" 
 
 Houser, from Phenix City, Alabama, had been staying in a local Motel 6 in recent weeks. Police said the gunman was "estranged" from his family but there was no indication what drove him to carry out the killings. 
 
 Image: John Houser LinkedIn 
 
 Investigators found wigs, glasses, and disguises in Houser's room and his vehicle had a switched license plate on it, Craft said, suggesting he originally intended to flee the scene. 
 
 About 100 people were watching the 7:10 pm. (8:10 p.m. ET) showing of "Trainwreck" at the Grand Theatre 16 when they heard a popping sound 20 minutes into the movie. 
 
 "A lot of the people thought it was part of the film," witness Josh Doggett, 32, told NBC Los Angeles. There was a pause, but when the firing resumed "everyone started climbing over the seats," he said. 
 
 "In the top left of the theater was a man shooting. He was kind of a middle-aged gentleman in a polo shirt," he said. "He wasn't erratic or nervous … just walking down the aisle, randomly firing." 
 
 RELATED: I'm Frustrated by Lack of 'Common Sense' Gun Laws, Obama Says 
 
 Survivors scrambled for the exits but the Houser left behind "a pretty horrific scene" before shooting himself, Craft said. 
 
 Among those trying to flee were two teachers, identified by friends as Jena Meaux and Ali Martin, one of whom managed to set off the fire alarm. 
 
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 Doggett's fiance, Katie Domingue, ran to the nearest exit, leaving behind her shoes and purse. She heard about six shots and saw "an older white man" standing up and shooting. 
 
 "He wasn't saying anything," she told the Lafayette Daily Advertiser. "I didn't hear anybody screaming either." 
 
 The two people who died had been sitting in front of the shooter and were his first victims, Craft said. 
 
 Police officers, who happened to be in the parking lot, were on the scene "in less than a minute … it could have been as little as 30 seconds," he said. 
 
 RELATED: 'Amazing, Strong, Beautiful Women' Among Theater Victims 
 
 Their prompt arrival may have spooked the gunman into killing himself — potentially preventing a greater tragedy. 
 
 The evil that exists in our world is stunning. But the stories of friends shielding friends from gunfire should give us all hope. (2/3) — Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) July 24, 2015 
 
 "It looks like he spotted the officers coming in and he turned around and went against the crowd and he fired a single gunshot," Craft said. 
 
 In a neighboring theater, patrons heard the faint gunshots over the sound of their movie. "I heard three pops, then ... about 10-15 seconds later the sirens went off and the PA system told everyone to evacuate the building," said Jalen Fernell, 20, who was watching "Southpaw" with friends. 
 
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 Outside, they realized the scale of the horror inside. "There was a middle-aged female lying down, she was shot in her leg and there was blood," Fernell said. "She said she was shot inside the theater and and some guys had picked her up and brought her outside and put her on the curb." 
 
 Appearing on Friday's TODAY, he told Matt Lauer: "I've never experienced anything like this before. It was the last thing I thought would happened when my friends texted and said, 'Let's go to the movies.'" 
 
 "Trainwreck" is a romantic comedy starring Amy Schumer, who tweeted: ||||| The man who shot 11 people at The Grand 16 movie theater in Lafayette Thursday night, killing two before he turned the gun on himself, was identified by police Friday (July 24) morning as John Russell Houser, 59. 
 
 Houser was "kind of a drifter" who had been staying at a Motel 6 in Lafayette since the beginning of July but apparently had few ties to the city, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said. 
 
 Police also identified the two women who died as Mayci Breaux, a 21-year-old resident of Franklin, and Jillian Johnson, a 33-year-old resident of Lafayette. 
 
 "Why did he come here, why did he do that, we don't know," State Police Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson said at a press conference Friday morning, saying Houser "took two beautiful lives." 
 
 "These two individuals had a name and a vision and a future," he said. "It wasn't to die as they did, horribly in this theater." 
 
 Nine other people were injured in the shooting, and as of Friday morning two had been released. One remained in critical condition, Craft said. 
 
 Houser, who shot himself as he saw the first Lafayette police officers enter the theater, apparently was going to try to escape from the shooting scene: Craft said wigs and other material for "disguises" were found in his motel room. He had also switched the license plates on his car, and parked it outside the theater exit. 
 
 He fired at least 13 rounds in the theater, where at least 100 moviegoers were watching a showing of "Trainwreck." 
 
 Houser was from Phenix City, Ala. He had been staying at a Motel 6 on University Avenue in Lafayette since the beginning of the month, Craft said. He appeared to be estranged from his family, and the only real tie Craft said they'd found to Lafayette was a deceased uncle who lived here about 35 years ago. 
 
 "We don't know why he chose to stop and stay in Lafayette," Craft said. 
 
 "This is a normal movie theater in a normal part of a normal town," Gov. Bobby Jindal said. "This is anywhere, U.S.A... this just shows senseless acts of violence can literally happen anywhere." 
 
 Houser had a small criminal record, but apparently hadn't run into any trouble with law enforcement for 10 to 15 years or more, Craft said. He said charges Houser had been arrested on included arson and selling alcohol to a minor. 
 
 Anyone who knows Houser or who may have information about him is asked to call 337-291-8650.
– The 59-year-old man who opened fire at a Lafayette, La., movie theater last night, killing two and injuring nine before killing himself, has been identified as John Russel Houser, police said at a news conference this morning, per ABC News. Details are still emerging, but police say Houser, from Phenix City, Ala., was staying at a local Motel 6 over the last few weeks, NBC News notes. Investigators reportedly found wigs, glasses, and other disguises in his motel room and say that his vehicle had a swapped-out license plate. Houser, who police described as a "drifter," had minimal links to Lafayette, though he'd likely been hanging around the area since early July. Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft says the only connection they've surfaced to the area thus far is a dead uncle who lived there long ago, per NOLA.com. Craft told reporters this morning that Houser had been sitting in the movie theater for 20 minutes "just like everybody else" when he suddenly started shooting. The two people killed were today named as Mayci Breaux, 21, and Jillian Johnson, 33. A man who had taken his fiancee to see Trainwreck at the theater and who witnessed the shooting tells NBC Los Angeles he saw "kind of a middle-aged gentleman in a polo shirt" in the back of the theater and that he remained silent throughout. "He wasn’t erratic or nervous, just walking down the aisle randomly firing," he says. Cops say Houser had tried to escape to his parked car right outside the theater's exit by blending into the crowd, but then turned back when he saw police coming in from the parking lot, the AP reports. "The quick law enforcement response forced him back into the theater," Craft said.