Louisiana shooting: Lafayette cinema killer 'tried to flee'

By BBC News

Police have identified the gunman who killed two women and injured nine others before shooting himself inside a Louisiana cinema.

Officials described John Russell Houser, 59, as a "drifter" from Alabama who had been staying at nearby motel.
Witnesses said Houser opened fire about 20 minutes into a Thursday night screening of a film in Lafayette.
Hours earlier, US President Barack Obama told the BBC that gun law reform had been his "greatest frustration".
Police chief Jim Craft said investigators believe Houser intended to flee rather than take his own life, but the quick police response forced him back into the building.

Mr Craft said Houser's car was parked outside an exit to the cinema. Investigators found wigs and other disguises inside his motel room.
Authorities said Houser's motive was still unclear, but it appeared he acted alone and did not know the victims.
Nine people were taken to a local hospital with injuries ranging from critical to non-life-threatening. One person remains in critical condition.
The police chief said that Houser did have a criminal history but that it was "pretty old".
Dozens of emergency vehicles were dispatched to the scene of the shooting in Lafayette, a city of about 120,000 people.