The Latest: Dash camera shows first officer racing to scene


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LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — The latest on the shooting at a Louisiana movie theater in which a gunman killed two people and then himself (all times local):

3:40 p.m.:

Dash camera footage from the first police officer on the scene of a shooting at a movie theater shows the officer speeding down the street and into a parking lot, and then a woman's voice can be heard saying: "He has a handgun!"

Authorities released the dash camera footage on Thursday along with police radio traffic, and 911 calls connected to the shooting July 23 in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Police say John Russell Houser opened fire about 20 minutes into a showing of "Trainwreck," killing two people before taking his own life.

The dash camera footage also shows movie patrons walking out of the theater as the police officer swiftly walks up to the theater with a long weapon in his hands.

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3 p.m.:

A police officer responding to a deadly shooting at a Louisiana movie theater last week yelled for a dispatcher to "send anybody you got" to the chaotic scene.

Authorities on Thursday released several minutes of police radio transmissions from the time of the shooting until officers learned that the shooter, John Russell Houser, had shot and killed himself.

An officer said, "I need units and I need units with rifles in here," before pleading for more officers to respond.

Another officer urged him to "take it easy" and assured him help was on the way.

After learning the suspect shot himself, a male voice on the tape asks for more help in treating gunshot victims inside the auditorium where Houser opened fire.

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2:30 p.m.:

A burst of 911 calls provide harrowing accounts of a lone gunman's deadly rampage inside a Louisiana movie theater last week.

Authorities released a batch of taped emergency calls on Thursday in response to public records requests by The Associated Press and other news outlets.

In one call, a man breathing heavily said he heard six or seven shots from a man who "shot right at people." In another, a man pleads for the dispatcher to send more ambulances. A woman in another call says she saw a girl who got shot walking out of the theater as she was walking in.

Witnesses said 59-year-old John Russell Houser stood up 20 minutes into a screening of "Trainwreck" and began shooting without saying a word. He was armed with a semi-automatic handgun that he legally purchased from a pawn shop in Alabama.

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11:45 a.m.:

Authorities have released a video that shows a gunman enter the Louisiana movie theater where he shot and killed two people and wounded nine others last week.

The video released Thursday lasts just over a minute. It shows the gunman, 59-year-old John Russell Houser, purchase a ticket, walk through the lobby and down a hallway toward the auditorium where he wordlessly opened fire 20 minutes into a screening of "Trainwreck."

The black-and-white footage does not have audio. He appears to be wearing a light-colored, short-sleeve shirt that is not tucked in and shorts.

The city of Lafayette is expected to release other video and audio related to the shooting, including tapes of 911 calls and police radio transmissions in the aftermath of the shooting.

Houser also shot and killed himself inside The Grand 16 theater in Lafayette.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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