News / Society

3 dead, 9 injured in Louisiana movie theater shooting

Friday, 24 July 2015 2:43 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 24 July 2015 12:27 PM ]

Police units block an entrance after a shooting at the Grand 16 Theater on Thursday night in the US city of Lafayette, Louisiana.

At least three people have died and nine others injured in a shooting at a movie theater in the US state of Louisiana during a showing of the film "Trainwreck", reports say.

The incident happened on Thursday night at the Grand 16 Theater in the city of Lafayette, Louisiana.

City Police Chief Jim Craft told reporters that the shooter, a 58-year-old white male, fired his weapon "numerous times" at the crowd before killing himself.

Craft said some of the injured people are in critical condition.

There were more than 100 people in the theater at the time of the shooting, Sgt. Brooks David of the Louisiana State Police told CNN.

Television pictures showed a hectic scene at the cinema, surrounded by scores of emergency vehicles and crews.

"We heard a loud pop we thought was a firecracker," eyewitness Katie Domingue told the Louisiana Advertiser newspaper.

Domingue said she saw "an older white man" standing up and shooting down into the crowd.

"He wasn't saying anything. I didn't hear anybody screaming either," Domingue said.

Over 6,000 people have been killed and over 13,000 people have been injured by gun in the United States since January 1, 2015, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

About 4.5 million firearms are sold annually in the country at a cost of 2 to 3 billion dollars.

According to a new report, gun production in the United States has more than doubled under the administration of President Barack Obama.

The report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives comes as Obama has tried to expand background checks and impose new restrictions on guns following massive shootings like the ones in Charleston, S.C. and in an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012.

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