President Barack Obama's "thoughts and prayers" are with the victims of a shooting at a US cinema that killed two people dead and injured nine others, the White House said today.
Obama was traveling to Kenya late Thursday when he learned about the deadly incident, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.
"The president received a briefing from Lisa Monaco, his homeland security adviser, on the mass shooting at a movie theater in Louisiana," Earnest's statement said.
"The president directed his team to keep him updated on the investigation and on the status of those injured," the spokesman said.
"The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the White House, including the President and First Lady, are with the community of Lafayette, Louisiana, especially the families of those who were killed."
The statement came a few hours after a gunman opened fire in the crowded theater, shooting two people dead before killing himself.
More than 100 people were in the theater when the gunman began shooting randomly during a screening of the movie "Trainwreck," police said.
Some of the wounded are in critical condition.
