Time for tighter cinema security? Debate rages in wake of Lafayette and Aurora shootings
- John Russel Houser killed two and injured nine in Lafayette, Louisiana
- Small changes were made after 2012 Colorado shooting that killed 12
- Colorado official says that talks going on about new security measures
- Metal detectors commonplace at cinemas in countries such as Israel
The Louisiana shooting that killed two Thursday night came at a site where national headlines had been grabbed before, the local movie theater.
Gunman John Russel Houser is believed to have open fire at a Lafayette screening of the Amy Schumer comedy Trainwreck, killing two before turning the gun on himself when cornered by police.
The shooting follows a similar attack almost exactly three years ago by James Holmes, who killed 12 and wounded 70 at the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado.
National attention followed the Aurora massacre, when James fired indiscriminately with an assault weapon, though the lives lost in Louisiana has brought renewed attention to cinemas' security policies.
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Another mass shooting at an American multiplex has raised questions about security in the country's movie theaters. Above, The Grand movie theater where John Houser killed two people and himself
Some predict that movie theaters may lead to increased security measures at theaters. Above, Mayci Breaux, 21 (left), and Jillian Johnson, 33 (right), have been identified as the two killed in the Thursday massacre
Southern Theaters, which owns the Grand 16 cinema where the Lafayette shooting occurred and is based in New Orleans, said, 'All of us offer our thoughts and prayers to the victims and to the community of Lafayette'.
As of Friday evening the National Association of Theater Owners had not commented on the Lafayette shooting, where Houser is thought to have fired at least 13 shots 'methodically' and injured nine in addition to the victims who died.
Leaders of the organization had worked with the Department of Homeland Security to boost security after 2012, according to the Los Angeles Times.
John Russel Houser, 59, is thought to have fired 13 rounds 'methodically' in the Louisiana attack
However, the changes were small-scale, and included securing employee-only doors and back exits.
'There is no question in my mind that there are meetings going on as we speak, talking about improving security and associated liability. I think it will take time to happen,' Jim Davis, who was executive director for the Colorado Department of Public Safety during the Aurora shootings, said.
Movie theaters generally don't include metal detectors or the security found at events such as sporting events, and some argue that cinemas should be more prepared to stop events such as the Lafayette shooting.
While the measures may seem strange to Americans, increased security such as bag checks is commonplace at theaters and malls in countries such as Israel.
'(Stadium owners) have decided that people are willing to put up with that level of security to go see a game. The question for the movie theaters (or anyone else) is, where is that line?' Davis told USA Today.
Cinemark and the Century 16 theater in the Aurora attack both face lawsuits from victims of the tragedy who said that it could have been prevented with better security, according to the Denver Post.
Trials for the suits were scheduled to begin in August, though have been delayed until next year as a federal judge waited until after the murder trial of Holmes, who was convicted on 165 counts last week, finished.
The Lafayette shooting occurred three years to the week after James Holmes (right) killed 12 and injured 70 when he opened fire with an assault rifle at a Colorado movie theater (left)
The Aurora movie theater and its parent company Cinemark are facing civil lawsuits from victims of Holmes's shooting. Above, authorities at the scene of the Louisiana shooting on Friday
Houser's attack was the first mass shooting at an American cinema since Aurora, though the spectre of movie theater violence was raised again last year as hackers threatened retaliation against locations showing Seth Rogen and James Franco's The Interview.
NATO allowed individual theaters to make their own decisions about showing the film, with major chains such as Regal and AMC choosing not to.
US movie theaters have been the site of violence since at least the 1970s, though until recent times the incidents were largely gang related, according to Flavorwire.
Six years before the Colorado shooting, 25-year-old medical student Mujtaba Jabbar shot a 62-year old man sitting front of him
The shooter had reportedly selected him at random during a Maryland movie theater's screening of X-Men 3 after being mad ''just because of the way things are going in my life', according to the Baltimore Sun.
Jabbar was later found guilty of first-degree murder but not criminally responsible due to mental illness.
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