Lafayette Shooting Victim Jillian Johnson Member of Country Band the Figs
Jillian Johnson, one of the two people killed by a gunman at a Lafayette, La. movie theater on Thursday night (July 23), was a businesswoman, artist and member of a well-respected local country music group called the Figs. Friends and fans from Nashville to Louisiana have visited her Facebook wall to offer their favorite memories in the hours since the shooting.
The Figs are an all-female group with a “propensity for harmony, and a shared love of nice dresses and high heels.” They mix country with swing and Americana and just a bit of Cajun-sass, according to their Facebook page. The sextet had a show scheduled for as recently as last Friday in New Orleans. It's not clear how Johnson’s death will affect them moving forward.
One friend recalls Johnson as “an amazing artist, creative beyond belief, she brightened the world everywhere she went, she inspired and believed in people and was a great friend and confidant.” A long list of posts share that sentiment. She's remembered as a loving wife, good friend and smart businesswoman.
Johnson was a graduate of Nashville’s Hillwood High School and a student at Belmont from 2000 to 2002, according to the Tennessean. In Lafayette she owned two businesses, the Red Arrow Workshop and Parish Ink, a T-shirt business.
The Tennessean reports that she lived by the motto “be nice, do good work, try hard, listen, love.” Watch the Figs perform at WDVX in the above video. The second of the two killed by gunman John Russel Houser was 21-year-old Mayci Breaux. The shooting took place at the Grand 16 Theater in Lafayette, La.
The staff of country station 97.3 the Dawg in Lafayette contributed to this story.
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