Horribly in this theater here. Nine people were injured. This is video taken on a cell phone right after the shooting. As you can see, people were trying to help the wounded. Police believe houser was trying to leave the scene as the crowds exited the building but turned around when he saw Law Enforcement officials arriving and eventually turned the gun on himself. Authorities are digging into the gunmans background. Theyre searching for clues that might provide a motive. They say they owe it to the victims to answer as many questions as they can. Everything i see of the men of women that make up the Lafayette Police department is trying to find a motive trying to find something that says why do you walk in that theater. Why did he fire at least 13 times . Why did he leave his car outside with the keys on top of the tire . Why was he living in a motel 8 . Why did he have wigs in there and glasses and all those types of things . Thats what the dna scientists are doing inside that theater right now. One of our cnn washington producers wes brewer knew the gunman John Russell Houser in fact. You lived right down the street from this gunman. This must have been such a jolt to you. Thats right, wolf. It was alarming to realize that it was a person that lived just about ten houses down from me in my hometown of columbus, georgia, i grew up with his daughter knew the family fairly well, the daughter was the same age as myself and we see him at School Functions, things like this. People around the neighborhood at the grocery store, it was a seemingly normal family on the surface in terms of what you could tell about the father. Did you have any indication at all there were mental problems or things along that line . There may have been indications early on. He was a very politically charged guy, very involved with local politics ran for local elections. At one point was even in trouble with the law for tampering with other opponents Campaign Signs so yeah very very political and just very involved in terms of local politics. You told me he had a Confederate Flag on his front lawn . Yes, i do remember that he did have a Confederate Flag hanging outside of the house and possibly a dont tread on me flag as well. Possibly came off as very political. When he was running for Political Office in columbus georgia, do you know what he was running for . What kind of Political Office . Im not positive. I believe it might have been tax commissioner. We know his father used to be a tax commissioner the area and was hopefully following in his fathers footsteps for that office. He supposedly went to law school. But you knew him you were telling me he sold auto parts on his front lawn . By the time i got to know his family as i was growing up his father would often sell cars in their front lawn owned a couple of bars in this area. This individual . Yes. So sort of different businesses going in between different jobs here and there and that possibly the mental issues may have played a role in keeping him from being able to hold a job down things like that. But your parents knew this family obviously a lot better than you did right . Correct. And what do your folks tell you . Everyone is shocked to hear we would see each other at School Functions and they would do house mom things together at the Elementary School and everyones just sort of shocked that the person that they knew was maybe a little bit mentally unstable and has taken off and gone and done something so violent. Thats a total shock even if he may have had some issues then go ahead and take a weapon into a Movie Theater and start shooting like that. Thats shocking. Thats correct. We never noticed any violent tendencies never thought he would actually be capable of this during the time i knew him. Clearly things had been unraveling for quite some time. Hed been estranged from the pa family for quite a long time. And i assume the family is in shock, including your friend his daughter. Sure. Hopefully theyre okay. Its a horrible horrible situation. Wes, thanks very much for sharing that. When you get more information on, that let us know. West bor wes bruer is one of our washingtonbased producers. Is that consistent with what you and your Law Enforcement authorities are hearing on the ground here . I would say so he obviously had some problems and it sounds like they go much farther back than ive heard so far. But he clearly is i dont think a normal human being can do the kind of things that happened here yesterday so you know hearing what he wassing down with his yard his i believe he lost his home about 90 days ago, had threatened suicide so we knew there was some real issues he was having. Is is there anything else you can tell us about this individual . This shooter . Why he may have decided to pick your community, that Movie Theater of all places . That is the thats the milliondollar question right now. We cant we can find no connection as of right now. The only thing ive heard so far is he had an uncle that was here many many years ago. In fact, the uncle died 35 years ago so its been a long long time. We dont see that as being any kind of connection but i think thats the piece everybody is looking for. Why lafayette . Hes been here we know of for maybe two and a half three weeks. We dont know if hes been here longer than that. We know hes been at that particular hotel for a couple weeks. Were still trying to find out if he may have been in other hotels in lafayette for a longer period of time. Not from lafayette, somebody from alabama, born in georgia and how he made his way to lafayette is very baffling to all of us. This particular theater, we know he came here two or three times in recent days. Theyve seen some evidence of that. We dont know if hes been coming here for a week two weeks, what but thats those are all the pieces of the puzzle still missing. Mayor, have you spoken to the families of those two young women who were killed . The families of other theater goers who were injured . Because clearly our heart goes out to all of them. Right. I have not talked to the families of the two deceased. I have visited with some of the wounded, the injured and, you know, the ones i talked to were felt very very fortunate to be simply injured. Do you have an update on the conditions . I understand some of them are still in serious or critical condition. Right. Right. Ive talked to some of them. All thing considered they are calling themselves lucky. How is your community of lafayetting down . Were good. Well let me put it this way. Were not so good. This is a very hurtful thing. Our hearts are breaking. Were worried about the victims and their families and, of course, this community as a whole. As you know harvard picked lafayette as the happiest city in america. I believe we will be that again in a fairly short period of time. Were a very, very familyoriented community. This whole region of the state is. Weve got strong religious ties an strong faithbased communities. I really believe well bounce back from this like most communities in america would. Its just hard to get your arms around this wrap your brain around something that is so senseless and just so tragic. What kind of a human being can just shoot an innocent person is something i dont think any of us can understand. Finally, the gun. It was a handgun, im assuming theyre investigating how this individual with a history of mental problems managed to get a hand gunn. Do you have any idea about that . Oh no no. We know there are criminals all over america. Murders happening all over with guns that are legal and illegal. How they get the guns is multiple ways. It really doesnt matter at this stage how he got it, the fact he had one and used it the way he did is the tragedy. Our hearts go out to your entire community. Thank you very much for joining us. Thank you. The moviegoers gathered to watch a summer comedy. Instead a horrible tragedy unfolded. Scared shocked, saddened. Eyewitnesss to the shooting and its after math share their own accounts of what happened. Reporter Lafayette Police has the grand 16 on lockdown. Its barricaded off and there have been multiple people transported via ambulance. We saw a lay dwi blood all over her leg. I grabbed my child and we just all ran. We heard three shots. Not very loud and we were like what was that . There was a woman on the front, she had been shot in the leg. Heard the sirens and people coming out and chaos, basically. Last night was also a heartbreaking night. I visited with family members who rushed to the emergency room hoping and praying to god that it wasnt their loved one, wasnt their child who had been shot. This is such a senseless tragic act. Why would you come here and do Something Like this . Its something we see that happened somewhere else on the national news. Hard to make sense of it isnt it . I can see the emotion in your face. Sure is. How does the happiest place in the world produce somebody so full of hate and evil to just stand up in a Movie Theater and start shooting people . What provokes snob do that . Its a sad day for the people of lafayette. Ed lavandera is the man on the scene, hes been on the scene for hours. Youve been tracking the developments. Whats the latest youre hearing, ed . Wolf, the investigators are still inside the theater as they have been since the overnight hours. One of the things thats starting to develop more quickly for investigators here in louisiana is that in the last few hours theyve put owl a call. Since they described houser as a drifter, they didnt really have a lot of leads into where he has been, what hes been doing since arriving here in lafayette and so theyre wanting to piece together as much of that investigation as possible. Investigators tell us theyre digging up more leads, local businesses that say houser had come into their stores or wherever and investigators are fanning out across the city using Surveillance Video trying to piece together anyone who conversations he might have had. Trying to get to the heart of the motive for carrying out this deadly attack, wolf. What are the eyewitnesss who were there at the movie theet whaerks are they telling you . You know the in the immediate aftermath of all of this many of these people overcome with emotion. A surreal frightening terrifying experience. Youve heard the stories of the teachers. Many of these witnesses who were directly affected we havent heard from them yet. But we do know from investigators in the interviews theyve been able to do that housers demeanor inside the theater, there was never a clue or indication this was going to happen. One investigator telling us a while ago that houser simply stood up as the previews of the movie just hended and the film was about to start, train wreck, that he stood up didnt say anything and just started shooting. So investigators getting those details from the witnesses inside that theater. One final question ed i take it at least so far they havent found a note or suicide, we know he killed himself in the Movie Theater but have they found any note or anything like that that may have explained his actions . Weve asked about that. They havent said that they found anything like that the one strong loyication strong location is that motel room where houser checked in earlier this month, thats where investigators say they found the wigs and did guises, that s investigators say they found the wigs and did guises, that ss and disguises. But if they have found anything else in that motel room any other details or writings other than what has been posted and online Political Forums that weve been reporting about throughout the morning we havent seen or heard about any other specific details like that found here in lafayette. Ed lavandera on the scene, thank you very much. Up next, were learning new information about the gunman his whereabouts leading up to the shooting last night. Plus, the two teachers whose quick actions at the theater are credited with saving lives. Stay with us. Im gonna crack like nobodys watching and eat like i skipped lunch. Why . Because red lobsters crabfest is back. 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The president clearly happy to be in kenya right now. Hes getting updates on what happened last night involving that deadly shooting at a louisiana Movie Theater just as he has been arriving in kenya aboard air force one. President obama expressed his deep frustration over the lack of tougher gun laws in the United States. Heres his interview with the bbc just hours before his shooting in louisiana. The one area i feel ive been most frustrate and most stymied it is the fact that the United States of america is the one advanced nation on earth in which we do not have sufficient common sense gun safety laws. Even in the face of repeated mass killings. And if you look at the number of americans killed by 9 11 its astounding. If you look at the number of americans killed by gun violence its in the tens of thousands. The president said hell keep working on the issue during his final year and a half or so in office. Police are describing the gunman as a kind of drifter who was treated for Mental Health issues years ago. John Russell Houser of alabama originally from columbus georgia, came to lafayette just weeks ago, were learning more about it. Housers family said he had a history of man i can depression and or bipolar disorder. A police order filed in 2008 we know that houser got a degree from Faulkner University he was active on political Bulletin Boards posting antigovernment antinews media messages on a web site back in 2013. In his biography on the Political Forum blog he wrote believe the u. S. Will be mad max in under five years. Adding no family is safe in the u. S. Environment. Lafayettes police chief says houser left some key evidence behind in that motel room. We found wigs and glasses and disguises basically in his room. His vehicle had a switched license tag on it. It was parked right outside an exit door of the theater. It is apparent that he was intent on shooting and then escaping. What happened is the quick