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round and that was into himself. houser had run-ins with police in alabama and georgia. in 2008 he became so outraged over the prospect of his daughter s marriage, his family hospitalized him against his will and obtained a protective order to keep him away. he was also accused of trying to set his former home on fire after it was sold in foreclosure. there is the third high-profile mass shooting in the last six weeks and raising a lot of questions about our gun laws and our mental health system. steve handelsman is live on capitol hill with that part of the story. steve? reporter: chris, thanks up here in congress after the sandy hook elementary school massacre, tougher gun chrome was defeated. the same time, many states have cut their funding for mental health care. now, both issues are from the burner. lafayette is the third u.s. mass shooting in 37 days by a suspect said to have mental or emotional issues. in charleston, where nine died, it was dylann roof. in ....
murder which we believe he didn t commit that causes almost anyone to be nervous. remember when you were 18, you may act a little differently at 18. reporter: as for how sutherland s parents are dealing with with the loss and now the prosecution of a suspect at the funeral mass which was so extraordinarily beautiful in kevin s honor, the priest said to doug and terry, are you ready to forgive and they said yes, we are. we just don t want our son s death to be in vain. reporter: now, spires due back in court late august, when we will learn the results of his mental evaluation. during today s proceeding, there is no mention of spires being under the influence of any drugs at all during that attack. coming up at 6:00 you will hear from the defense attorney as he pokes holes in the prosecution s case, including one witness who identified a different suspect as the killer. in the district, mark segraves news4. during part of his time here in the district, kevin sut ....
reporter: police rushed in just after the first shots rang out. it was just loud, like one big, loud bang, made my ears ring. i knew it was a gunshot. reporter: witnesses say a 59-year-old drifter, john russel houser, stood up in the crowded theater and opened fire. he looked like he was very calm, standing there, kind of walking down the aisle and firing. reporter: two people were killed in the attack, nine others wounded. shock. shocked. i don t even know what to say about the situation. reporter: today, as their investigation continues, police are learning more about the man they say is responsible. he clearly knew what he was doing, clearly had some kind of a plan, because he bought the ticket, in the theater, he had the gun. reporter: a plan that according to officers, became more clear as they searched the hotel he had been living in. we found wigs and glasses and disguises basically in his room. it is apparent that he was intent on shooting an ....
passengers alex murk of potomac and calvin lee of rockville. a 17-year-old front seat passenger survived. 18-year-old sam ellis of north potomac was behind the wheel, but he has not been charged. routinely these investigations where there is a death invo days. reporter: this is a community that has lawyered up and shut down according to multiple sources. police are convinced teenagers and parents with information about the party preceding the crash have not yet come forward to investigators. they need more people from the community who may have seen something but even if they didn t see something might know something. reporter: social media including snapchat, instagram and twitter may provide critical clues. using snapchat sam ellis shared video from inside the party and alex murk shared video from inside ellis car just minutes before all four lives would be changed forever. in north potomac andrea mccarren, wusa9. sam ellis lawyer says his client is devast ....
now abc 7 news at 11:00 on your side. first at 11:00, a man with a history of mental illness and a prior arrest opened fire if a louisiana movie theater last night killing two people and injuring several others. tonight we are learning more about the gunman s past and how he got that weapon. this as many are struggling to come to grips with the surge in mass shootings in our country. ashley coleman is live with new developments on this case and how this tragedy is impacting what is a very busy time for theaters around here. ashley. ashley: it is the start of the weekend when folks are headed to the movies and families are telling us their hearts go out to the victims in louisiana, but they re not letting what happened there shatter their sense of security. it was a terrifying scene inside this louisiana movie theater. everyone was just running down the stairs freaking out, climbing over chairs and people and everyone was screaming. ashley: police say 59-year-old j ....