Mayci Breaux was one of two young women killed during the Louisiana theater shooting on Thursday evening. Just 21 years old, she was well known in the small community, and her untimely, senseless death will impact people there for a long time to come.
“This is going to affect the community for a long time,”Kim Adams, Mayci Breaux’s former principal, said.
“She’s just a beautiful person,” Adams added, following a prayer service at Mayci Breaux’s church on Friday, where those who knew and loved the young woman gathered to pray and support one another. “That’s all you can say.”
Mayci Breaux was with her longtime boyfriend at a Lafayette, Louisiana theater on Thursday night when she another local woman, Jillian Johnson, were shot and killed at the hands of drifter John Russell Houser. She and her boyfriend, Matthew Rodriguez, had talked about marrying and starting a family.
‘This is going to affect the community for a long time': Town mourns shooting victim Mayci Breaux: FRANKLIN, LA…. http://t.co/cyaaPl9CLM
— USA Today (@USAToday24h) July 24, 2015
“They had so many plans–just to get married, have kids,” Mayci’s mom, Donde Breaux said.
“The family’s just–they’re in shock,” Mayor Raymond Harris, Jr. said in an interview on Friday. Harris has been mayor of this Louisiana city of more than 7,500 for over a decade. He spoke with Mayci Breaux’s father on Friday morning.
Police identify the two people killed in the Louisiana theater shooting as Mayci Breaux, 21, and Jillian Johnson, 33. http://t.co/6vDKKeHIft
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) July 24, 2015
By Friday afternoon, more than 20 cars lined the yard of Mayci Breux’s family home. Family members inside the house declined to talk with reporters, but a relative outside the house identified Breaux’s parents as Kevin and Dondie Breaux. She said Mayci Breaux is also survived by a younger sister, Ali, and an older brother, Dustin.
Yet another unthinkable tragedy has taken the lives of two young people. Surely Jillian Johnson’s family is experiencing the same harrowing ordeal as that of Mayci Breaux’s family.
Prayers for both Mayci Breaux and Jillian Johnson, as well as their family members and friends, are being said by people all over the country.
The coming days for both families will no doubt be the most painful each has ever endured.