His father, Shannon Broussard, described gratitude for a teacher who apparently pulled the fire alarm to alert theatergoers that they needed to evacuate the building.
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The victims were identified as Mayci Breaux, 21, a student, and Jillian Johnson, 33, a toy shop owner. They had a future.
“Don’t lose sight of the fact that these two individuals had a vision, had a name, had a future”, said Col. Michael Edmonson of the Louisiana State Police. Thank you all for your support and understanding. Below are their stories.
Mourners began leaving flowers at a small memorial dedicated to Johnson outside her shop after learning of her death.
And finally our thoughts and prayers are with Jillian’s best friend, who was in the theater with her at the time of the shooting.
Johnson was from Lafayette, and Breaux was a native of Franklin, Louisiana, Craft said. The pair recently opened a second location on Magazine Street in New Orleans.
Randall Mann said his daughter Emily and her friend escaped uninjured.
He later wrote; ‘I’m on my way to Lafayette right now.
An online business profile identifies Johnson as the co-owner of the Red Arrow Workshop. The store’s website said she was “obsessed” with Fats Waller, Tina Turner and John Steinbeck and that her favorite movie was “Coal Miner’s Daughter”. We will love you forever.
“She was a once-in-a-lifetime gal”, her husband Jason said in a statement. I feel just raging and lonely. Not Jillian. Not Brown. They searched a motel room he had been staying in and found wigs and other disguises.
One victim was still listed in critical condition Friday morning, Craft said.
“She was… a phenomenal musician, which is what most of the community knew her for”, Rowe said. She hosted a popular radio show.
“Jillian had this incredible style, passion and talent for things she’d never done before”, Thigpen said. “She made life better, from what she said… from her hand to what she made”.
“My dad used to say that to me before I left for school in the morning”, Johnson said. “I didn’t realize it was totally my lifelong mantra until I was in my 20s”.
Breaux’s 16-year-old sister, Ali Breaux, told MSNBC that she was a centerpiece of a large extended family, and helped guide her through adolescence.
The head of the program, Robert McLaughlin, described her as a sweet, generous person who was always polite and professional.
Thank you all for your kind words and offers of support. “She had a lot of potential”. “All we know is that she was injured and she is in the hospital”.
Breaux attended Louisiana State University-Eunice, according to LSU President F. King Alexander.
The school about 40 miles northwest of Lafayette issued a statement saying that the campus was mourning.
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Breaux also worked in a local clothing store. She opened a boutique store with her husband. He had been estranged from his family, he said. “Many of you had come to know and love Mayci and we ask that you pray for her family and friends during this tragic time”.
