At least three people are dead and several injured after a gunman opened fire at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana on Thursday night, local police say.

The attacker, who state police said was 58 years old, is among the deceased, having turned the gun on himself. Local ambulance services say that eight people were taken to hospital.

Michael Edmondson, of the Louisiana Police Department, said the gunman had been a patron at the theater before opening fire on innocent people. The police officer said he would not reveal the name of the perpetrator to protect the integrity of the investigation, according to CNN. 

Acadian on scene at Geand Theater in Lafayette, La. 8 transported to area hospitals. Scene calm now. pic.twitter.com/4wqtulCn2g

— Acadian Companies (@AcadianNews) July 24, 2015

Witness Katie Domingue told local paper The Advertiser that she was in The Grand Theatre cinema for the 7.00 p.m. local time showing of the movie Trainwreck. About 20 minutes into the movie she heard a noise and looked up and saw “an older white man” shooting.

"He wasn't saying anything," she said. "I didn't hear anybody screaming either."

Governor Bobby Jindal announced on Twitter that he was aware of the attack, and was heading to the scene.

I'm on my way to Lafayette right now. Please say a prayer for the victims at Grand Theatre and their families.

— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) July 24, 2015

“I'm on my way to Lafayette right now. Please say a prayer for the victims at Grand Theatre and their families,” he wrote.

Lafayette is a small city of about 12,000 inhabitants. Police say there were about 100 people at the time of the shooting.