Tipsters help police seeking theater shooter’s motive

LAFAYETTE, La. — Police on Saturday thanked the many people providing tips about John Russell Houser as they work to reconstruct his movements before he killed two people, wounded nine and then killed himself in a movie theater.

By interviewing victims and witnesses and studying his cell phone records, internet postings and other contacts, they hope to figure out what prompted the right-wing extremist with a history of erratic behavior and violent threats to open fire.

“Our intelligence section is still analyzing a lot of that,” Lafayette Police Col. Paul Mouton said, adding that many people “feel they have had some sort of contact or run-in with this individual.”

An initial report about Houser will likely be released next week, the police spokesman said. By Monday, they expect to remove police tape and return some measure of normalcy to the theater where a romantic comedy exploded into violence.

Houser, 59, said not a word as he aimed at the audience, witnesses said. He left a horrific scene of blood, bullet holes and spent shell casings, and purses, wallets and shoes.

Emily Mann, 21, escaped with her friend by crawling out on her hands and knees while he picked off his victims one by one.

Mann said they arrived late for Thursday’s “Trainwreck” feature and quietly found seats near the back of the small theater. They didn’t notice the man in their row until he started firing, about 20 minutes into the movie.

“You hear one loud shot and you’re sure that’s not what it is because it would never be that. And then you hear another and another and another and you realize that those aren’t just lights and sounds,” Mann said.

Houser was a deeply troubled man with a reputation of angry behavior in the communities where he lived in Georgia and Alabama. He had a regular seat on local television and radio shows and board meetings, providing a provocative and conspiratorial counterpoint to more mainstream political voices, according to many accounts.

He flew a large Confederate flag outside his home and a Nazi swastika outside a bar he owned, and put “doomsday” fliers in his neighbors’ mailboxes, urging them to pool resources for the coming global economic collapse, his former neighbor Rick Chancey said.

Houser’s own family said he had a history of “manic depression and/or bi-polar disorder” as they persuaded a judge that he needed mental health treatment in 2008. In 1989, another judge had ordered a psychiatric evaluation for Houser after he was arrested for allegedly trying to kill a lawyer by hiring an arsonist to torch his office, according to court records.

Houser became estranged from his family, lost his businesses, his home was foreclosed on, and when he was finally evicted, he ruined the property by pouring concrete into the plumbing and glue into the fixtures, police said.

 

SportsPlus

News

Islamic State-inspired driver expressed desire to kill before deadly New Orleans rampage, Biden says

News

Law enforcement officials tell the AP that the suspect in the New Orleans crash is dead

News

New year, new laws: These laws go into effect Jan. 1 in Minnesota

Mower County

2024: Expansion, flooding among the top stories of this past year

Mower County

Austin Area Arts seeks undiscovered talent

Mower County

Hanson honored as he heads into phased retirement

News

New digital evidence requirement begins Jan. 1 in Minnesota

News

January special election called for tiebreaker Minn. Senate seat after Dziedzic’s death

Business

Austin Utilities Board approves rate changes for 2025

News

Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100

Mower County

Sheriff takes part in one-of-a-kind training opportunity

Crime, Courts & Emergencies

Convictions: Dec. 16-23

Mower County

In Your Community: Mower County Senior Center

Mower County

Public invited to learn about Mower County, City of Austin Comprehensive Plans

News

Job market jitters real for some mid-career and recent grads

News

One owl rescued by a Minnesota woman is euthanized; efforts to save the other continue

News

Prayers, songs greet Dakota Riders in Mankato 162 years after hangings

Mower County

Walk, snowshoe or ski by candlelight at Minnesota state parks and trails this winter

Mower County

Fire Marshal investigating Christmas night fire near Sargeant

News

Survey on isolation: Nearly half of Minnesotans report feeling left out at times

Mower County

DNR investigating recent waterfowl deaths across southern Minnesota

Mower County

A new reason to run: After diagnosis, Austin grad is looking to raise funds to fight MS

Mower County

SWCD board chair to serve as VP for state group

Mower County

Minnesota DNR: Enjoy the ice over the holidays, but check it often