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.

Gunfire erupted during a 7 pm showing of the film Trainwreck, almost three years to the day after 12 people were killed at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado.

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 pm.