Surveillance Video Shows Lafayette Movie Theater Prior to Deadly Shooting

The Lafayette Police Department in Louisiana released surveillance video on July 31 showing the man who opened fire in the Grand 16 movie theater on July 23. The footage shows John Russel Houser in the lobby buying a ticket and walking down a hallway, shot a few minutes before he started shooting during a screening of the film “Trainwreck,” killing two and injuring nine.

Police said the time-stamp on the footage was 18 minutes and 25 seconds ahead of the real time. As Houser is seen approaching the ticket counter, the time-stamp reads 7:38pm, meaning the real time would be 7:20pm. However, early police reports indicated that Houser entered the theater at 7:10pm, just as the screening was starting. Storyful has asked Lafayette Police Department for clarification on this issue and their response was: “The surveillance from the theater video confirms he purchased his ticket at 7:20 p.m. The first call to 911 was at reporting a shooting occurred at 7:28:46 p.m. Of course, we have not completed investigation to confirm how quickly the first caller called after the first shots were fired to be able to state positively the exact time that the actual shooting started. What we can confirm is his purchase of the ticket at 7:20 p.m., and that the first report of a shooting was at 7:28:46.” Credit: Lafayette Police Department