Beauty queen, entrepreneur are La. gunman's victims
One was a young beauty queen and student with a longtime boyfriend. The other, a married entrepreneur, artist and musician who disliked ice cream.
Mayci Breaux, 21, and Jillian Johnson, 33, were both killed at a Lafayette, La., movie theater Thursday night when a suspect described by police as a "drifter" opened fire as they were watching the just-released Amy Schumer movie, Trainwreck.
The suspect, John Russell Houser, 59, from Alabama, killed himself at the scene, police said. His motive wasn't known.
Breaux, who died at the scene, was a native of Franklin, which is about an hour southeast of Lafayette. According to her Facebook profile, she worked at Coco Eros, a women's clothing store in Lafayette. Her page also indicates that she was a student at a branch of Louisiana State University in Eunice.
Tributes poured into Breaux's Facebook page. (They later were removed.)
"I'm so sick to my stomach to see your life was ended so abruptly," wrote Ashlee Nicole Martinez. "You were such a beautiful, talented young lady with a bright future a head (sic) of you. God has gained such a beautiful angel. May your family find comfort in the memories and moments they shared with you. Rest in peace beautiful girl! This just breaks my heart."
She also received a Facebook tribute from her employer:
"Nothing ever prepares you for a loss ... Much less the loss of such an amazing young woman," read a posting on the Coco Eros Facebook page. "We are deeply saddened by this loss. 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."
She is survived by her parents, Kevin and Dondie, as well as a sister, Ali Elizabeth, and a brother, Dustin. According to his Facebook page, her father is a sugar cane farmer.
Breaux's Facebook page contains many pictures and references to a boyfriend, Matthew Rodriguez, with whom she had been in a long-term relationship since 2012. In 2014, she was finalist in the Louisiana Sugar Cane beauty contest. An online profile in a local newspaper says that during her time in high school, she was voted most beautiful and was a co-captain of the school's cheerleading team.
In the February 2013 edition of the St. Mary and Franklin Banner-Tribune, Breaux was portrayed as a pro-life activist who marched on Washington D.C. as part of rally in March. She also was active in her high school's Christian Ministry.
Johnson, meanwhile, was a well-known Lafayette businesswoman and musician. She died at the hospital, police said. Johnson was a co-owner of the boutique store Red Arrow Workshop, along with her husband, Jason Brown, as well as Parish Ink, a popular T-shirt business, which she started with her brother. Both shops feature items that focus on Lafayette and Louisiana culture, food and music.She was attending the movie with her best friend, her husband wrote on Red Arrow Workshop's Facebook page.
"Our hearts are shattered," the post said. "We will love you forever. She was a once-in-a-lifetime gal. A mother, daughter, sister and a truly exceptional wife. She was an artist, a musician, an entrepreneur and a true renaissance woman. She was the love of my life and I will miss her always."
On the website for the Red Arrow Workshop she is pictured with her husband. "She doesn't care about ice cream, and thinks people who get ice cream headaches totally had it coming," it says in a section called "Important things to know about Jillian."
She was also a member of the local band The Figs and co-founder of Acadiana Food Circle.
In a 2012 interview with The Advertiser, Johnson said she lived by the values "be nice, do good work, try hard, listen, love." She called "do good work" the best advice she was ever given.
"My dad used to say that to me before I left for school in the morning," Johnson said at the time. "I didn't realize it was totally my lifelong mantra until I was in my 20s."
Tributes poured into Johnson's Facebook page overnight and into Friday.
"I want to say so much but I can't find the right words," wrote Christine Trahan Griffin. "This beautiful, loving, creative, artistic and generous soul has been taken and I am so saddened. I don't understand why the good ones are taken when they have so much to give and so much life left to live. Jillian Johnson fly high you beautiful angel! RIP."
Patrick Mould wrote that he was "devastated."
"She was an incredible, beautiful and strong young woman who had in her 33 years created a life that has contributed much to our community and had she not been cut down in her prime would have contributed much more," Mould wrote. "My thoughts are with her family and everyone who knew her. People like Jillian are suppose (sic) to be our future ... and without her in it the future will be less than what it could have been."
Contributing: Amanda McElfresh, Lafayette (La.) Daily Advertiser