AKIPRESS.COM - A lone gunman opened fire inside a crowded movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Thursday evening, killing two people and injuring seven others before taking his own life, police said.

The gunfire erupted during a 7 p.m. CDT (0000 GMT) showing of the film "Trainwreck" and took place almost three years to the day after a massacre at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado, that killed 12 people, reports Reuters.

Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said two people died in the hail of bullets before the 58-year-old suspect killed himself with a handgun as officers rushed to the scene shortly after 7:30 p.m.

Seven people suffered injuries ranging from non life-threatening to critical, Craft said.