Less than 24 hours after a gunman opened fire in a crowded movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, police have identified the shooter as 59-year-old John Russell Houser. He was described as a "drifter" who had no immediate ties to the Lafayette community, according to CNN.

Houser reportedly sat in the theater for 20 minutes before silently standing up and unloading at least 13 shots from a .45 caliber handgun, taking the lives of 21-year-old Mayci Breaux and 33-year-old Jillian Johnson; nine others were injured in the incident, including Breaux's boyfriend. CNN also reported that Houser initially attempted to walk out of the theater with the panicked crowd before turning back when he spotted police outside.

According to eyewitness accounts, one teacher in the theater dove in front of her friend and fellow teacher, taking a bullet in the leg and possibly saving her friend's life; that friend then sprang into action and pulled a fire alarm that alerted the authorities -- likely helping to save other lives.

Police said Houser had parked his 1955 Lincoln Continental outside the theater door, suggesting he had planned an escape route, but that plan foiled by two police officers who happened to be at the theater and responded to the shots fired within one minute. After trying to walk out, Houser -- who a local sheriff said had been treated for mental health issues in his native Alabama in 2008 and 2009 -- returned to the theater and took his own life.

Houser was staying at a Motel 6 just 4 miles north of the theater, where police found wigs, glasses and other disguises suggesting he had planned for the shooting. Houser had also apparently switched the license plates on his car.

At press time, one victim was still hospitalized in critical condition. Amy Schumer, star of "Trainwreck," the movie that was playing during the shooting, expressed her shock and prayers for the victims late Thursday night.

Louisiana governor and presidential candidate Bobby Jindal had praise for the heroic actions of the teacher and condemnation for the violent act. Authorities said at press time that they do not yet have a motive in the attack.

This latest shooting comes three years after James Holmes killed 12 and injured more than 70 in a shooting spree in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, a crime for which he was recently convicted of murder and is awaiting sentencing.

Just hours before the Louisiana incident, President Obama opened up to the BBC about the issue he called the "greatest frustration" of his presidency.

“If you ask me where has been the one area where I feel that I’ve been most frustrated and most stymied, it is the fact that the United States of America is the one advanced nation on Earth in which, we do not have sufficient common-sense gun safety laws, even in the face of repeated mass killings,” he said. Obama said he would not stop fighting for gun safety laws during the remainder of his presidency.