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| John Houser: Louisiana police look into mental health issues of theater gunman | John Houser: Louisiana police look into mental health issues of theater gunman |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Police in Lafayette, Louisiana, like law enforcement officers in so many other US cities, were on Friday trying to piece together scraps of a life and a motive. The night before, a single white man opened fire in a movie theater there, killing two and injuring nine. He then shot himself. | Police in Lafayette, Louisiana, like law enforcement officers in so many other US cities, were on Friday trying to piece together scraps of a life and a motive. The night before, a single white man opened fire in a movie theater there, killing two and injuring nine. He then shot himself. |
| The 59-year-old “drifter” was named as John Russel Houser, a man who was reported to have had problems with mental illness and to have had violent and “disturbing” thoughts since at least 2008. | The 59-year-old “drifter” was named as John Russel Houser, a man who was reported to have had problems with mental illness and to have had violent and “disturbing” thoughts since at least 2008. |
| “We believe in talking to the family, talking to the friends, trying to look at his writings on the internet and putting some parts and pieces together and maybe we can figure out what caused him to do it,” Colonel Mike Edmonson of the Louisiana state police told reporters. Officers were interviewing 116 people in connection with the shooting. | “We believe in talking to the family, talking to the friends, trying to look at his writings on the internet and putting some parts and pieces together and maybe we can figure out what caused him to do it,” Colonel Mike Edmonson of the Louisiana state police told reporters. Officers were interviewing 116 people in connection with the shooting. |
| Related: Lafayette shooting victims were a bright student and an artistic entrepeneur | Related: Lafayette shooting victims were a bright student and an artistic entrepeneur |
| The suspect is believed to have driven his 1995 blue Lincoln Continental from a local motel to the movie theater at around 7.30pm for a showing of Trainwreck, an Amy Schumer comedy. He opened fire into a crowd of 24 people. | The suspect is believed to have driven his 1995 blue Lincoln Continental from a local motel to the movie theater at around 7.30pm for a showing of Trainwreck, an Amy Schumer comedy. He opened fire into a crowd of 24 people. |
| “He walked in just like any patron, purchased the ticket to watch the movie,” said Lafayette police chief Jim Craft, regarding surveillance video from the ticket counter. “It didn’t set off any alarms for anybody. He wasn’t acting different from any other person.” | “He walked in just like any patron, purchased the ticket to watch the movie,” said Lafayette police chief Jim Craft, regarding surveillance video from the ticket counter. “It didn’t set off any alarms for anybody. He wasn’t acting different from any other person.” |
| Later, police would find wigs, glasses and disguises in Houser’s hotel room. On Friday morning, the ATF was attempting to trace the origins of the .40-caliber firearm used in the shooting. | Later, police would find wigs, glasses and disguises in Houser’s hotel room. On Friday morning, the ATF was attempting to trace the origins of the .40-caliber firearm used in the shooting. |
| Houser appears to have had court-documented violence in his past, and a spotty if self-reported employment record. Some online records appeared to show extreme views, although at best the legitimacy of such online writings was difficult to confirm. | Houser appears to have had court-documented violence in his past, and a spotty if self-reported employment record. Some online records appeared to show extreme views, although at best the legitimacy of such online writings was difficult to confirm. |
| Houser graduated from Columbus State University in Georgia in 1988 with a degree in accounting, the school reported. The school said it had few remaining records of Houser’s time there, as disciplinary files are destroyed after five years. | Houser graduated from Columbus State University in Georgia in 1988 with a degree in accounting, the school reported. The school said it had few remaining records of Houser’s time there, as disciplinary files are destroyed after five years. |
| From there, in 1994, Houser attended the Jones School of Law at Faulkner University, a private, Christian university in Montgomery, Alabama. He graduated in the spring of 1998, before the school was accredited by the American Bar Association. | From there, in 1994, Houser attended the Jones School of Law at Faulkner University, a private, Christian university in Montgomery, Alabama. He graduated in the spring of 1998, before the school was accredited by the American Bar Association. |
| The Alabama Bar Association confirmed that Houser, despite graduating from Faulkner University, never passed the bar exam in that state. Houser was never bar-certified in Georgia either. | |
| According to Houser’s LinkedIn profile, he owned and operated the Peachtree Pub in Columbus, Georgia, and then Rusty’s Buckethead Pub in LaGrange, Georgia. Those two cities are within an hour of each other, along the state’s western border. | According to Houser’s LinkedIn profile, he owned and operated the Peachtree Pub in Columbus, Georgia, and then Rusty’s Buckethead Pub in LaGrange, Georgia. Those two cities are within an hour of each other, along the state’s western border. |
| Houser also claimed to have been a “guest host” on a political talk radio show on WLTZ, a radio station in Columbus, Georgia, in 1993. | Houser also claimed to have been a “guest host” on a political talk radio show on WLTZ, a radio station in Columbus, Georgia, in 1993. |
| Houser’s work history on the professional networking site stops in 2008, when he listed his last employment as a real-estate developer in Phenix City, Alabama, across Lake Oliver from Columbus. At that time, authorities said, he borrowed money from his mother. | Houser’s work history on the professional networking site stops in 2008, when he listed his last employment as a real-estate developer in Phenix City, Alabama, across Lake Oliver from Columbus. At that time, authorities said, he borrowed money from his mother. |
| “He was going to get his life together, he told her,” Colonel Edmonson told reporters. | “He was going to get his life together, he told her,” Colonel Edmonson told reporters. |
| Authorities in Louisiana were looking into reports by the Associated Press that Houser’s wife and other family members filed a protective order against him the same year. | Authorities in Louisiana were looking into reports by the Associated Press that Houser’s wife and other family members filed a protective order against him the same year. |
| The court documents, the AP reported, show that Houser “exhibited extreme erratic behavior and has made ominous as well as disturbing statements”. The documents said Houser had driven an hour and a half north from Phenix City to Carroll County, Georgia, where the family lived, and there “perpetrated various acts of family violence”. | The court documents, the AP reported, show that Houser “exhibited extreme erratic behavior and has made ominous as well as disturbing statements”. The documents said Houser had driven an hour and a half north from Phenix City to Carroll County, Georgia, where the family lived, and there “perpetrated various acts of family violence”. |
| Houser had “a history of mental health issues, ie manic depression and/or bipolar disorder”, the AP reported the documents as saying, adding that Houser’s wife, Kellie Maddox Houser had “become so worried about the defendant’s volatile mental state that she has removed all guns and/or weapons from their marital residence”. | Houser had “a history of mental health issues, ie manic depression and/or bipolar disorder”, the AP reported the documents as saying, adding that Houser’s wife, Kellie Maddox Houser had “become so worried about the defendant’s volatile mental state that she has removed all guns and/or weapons from their marital residence”. |
| Maddox Houser filed for divorce in March, the AP reported, after a protective order against Houser was at least temporarily granted. Authorities in Louisiana said they were still attempting to substantiate the events in the 2008 filings. | Maddox Houser filed for divorce in March, the AP reported, after a protective order against Houser was at least temporarily granted. Authorities in Louisiana said they were still attempting to substantiate the events in the 2008 filings. |
| “Just because it is written there – did it happen?” Edmonson said Friday. | “Just because it is written there – did it happen?” Edmonson said Friday. |
| Phenix, Alabama, appears to be Houser’s last permanent address, but he had been in Lafayette, a city of 124,000 roughly 500 miles west, for long enough to make an impression on local business owners. | Phenix, Alabama, appears to be Houser’s last permanent address, but he had been in Lafayette, a city of 124,000 roughly 500 miles west, for long enough to make an impression on local business owners. |
| Craft told reporters on Friday some business owners had called police to report interactions, but said they had reported “nothing that alerted anyone to think maybe we want to call law enforcement about this fella”. | Craft told reporters on Friday some business owners had called police to report interactions, but said they had reported “nothing that alerted anyone to think maybe we want to call law enforcement about this fella”. |
| Meanwhile, authorities were trying to piece together a trail of online statements made under Houser’s name and his nickname, “Rusty”. A profile on the Tea Party Nation bore Houser’s name and where he was believed to have last lived, in Phenix City, but no posts. | Meanwhile, authorities were trying to piece together a trail of online statements made under Houser’s name and his nickname, “Rusty”. A profile on the Tea Party Nation bore Houser’s name and where he was believed to have last lived, in Phenix City, but no posts. |
| A user named Rusty Houser of Phenix City, Alabama, commented on a thread on PoliticalForum.com: “Any meaningful change in the US will have to be backed up with guns. Those who have been on a free ride, those benefiting from race based hiring laws, those benefiting from race based lending laws, etc … will start burning , looting.” | A user named Rusty Houser of Phenix City, Alabama, commented on a thread on PoliticalForum.com: “Any meaningful change in the US will have to be backed up with guns. Those who have been on a free ride, those benefiting from race based hiring laws, those benefiting from race based lending laws, etc … will start burning , looting.” |
| The comment was in response to the topic: “How I would improve my own country.” | The comment was in response to the topic: “How I would improve my own country.” |
| The Southern Poverty Law Center, meanwhile, attributed to Houser other online posts expressing anti-government ideas and supporting far rightwing ideologies. | |
| In one such post, on a forum dedicated to the New York chapter of the far-right Greek party Golden Dawn (now removed), the SPLC said Houser commented on the “power of the lone wolf”. | |
| “Do not mistake yourselves for one minute, the enemy sees all posted on this website,” the post read. “I do not want to discourage the last hope for the best, but you must realize the power of the lone wolf, is the power that come forth in ALL situations. Look within yourselves.” |