Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called for prayers for the families of the movie theater shooting victims.
Three people were killed, including the gunman — who police said shot himself — and seven injured in the shooting Thursday in Lafayette.
"This is an awful night for Lafayette. This is an awful night for Louisiana. This is an awful night for the United States. But we will get through this," Jindal said at a late-night news conference.
He said he'll be meeting with the families of the victims.
Later, Jindal that two of the patrons in the theater were schoolteacher friends, one of whom may have shielded the other from a fatal bullet — and one who likely saved even more lives.
According to Jindal, "one of the teachers jumped on top of the second teacher in an act of braveness."
"Both teachers got shot but the second one, the one who got saved, even though she got shot she had the presence of mind to pull the fire alarm and save other lives," he said.
U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, a Republican from Lafayette, echoed the governor's sentiment, saying "I'm saddened at the terrible loss of life represented in tonight's tragic shooting at a movie theater in my hometown of Lafayette."
