This undated photo provided by the Lafayette Police Department shows John Russel Houser, in Lafayette, La. Authorities have identified Houser as the gunman who opened fire in a movie theater on Thursday, July 23, 2015, in Lafayette.

Two men with Cullman ties had a business connection of sorts with the person who allegedly killed two people and injured nine others before fatally shooting himself in a Louisiana theater on July 23.

Marcus Clark, president and owner of Foreclosure Services of Alabama Inc., said his company foreclosed on the Phenix City, Ala., house that John Russell Houser had reportedly bought with his wife in 2011.

Houser’s family had moved away from him because they were in fear for their lives after he exhibited extreme and dangerous behaviors due to mental health issues, according to numerous media reports.

Clark said his business foreclosed on Houser’s Phenix City home in 2013. Houser allegedly refused to move, resulting in a judge issuing a court order forcing him to leave.

Clark did not see the interior of the house himself, but said he later heard about the extensive damage that Houser allegedly did to the house.

“He caused all kinds of problems and made threats,” said Clark, adding that the new owners originally wanted Clark’s company to remove Houser from the home.

“Thank goodness I was too busy,” Clark said. “We later learned he had poured concrete down the toilets, smashed appliances and fixtures, and took baseball bats to the walls. When they finally got him out the guy [Houser] threatened them.”

Clark said it is not uncommon for people to damage houses and make threats after they go into foreclosure status, but said this case was severe.

“We’ve never had anything close to this,” Clark said. “You just never know anymore.”

Greg Eidson, who grew up in Cullman and now lives in Auburn, was the auctioneer who sold the house at the Russell County Courthouse in 2014.

Eidson said he had no idea how badly Houser had allegedly damaged the house until later; he didn’t see the home before he auctioned it.

“I’m glad I didn’t, now,” Eidson said. “I don’t think anybody knew about that until after the fact. The guy who bought it didn’t know. I’ve never heard of one that was this bad.”

Houser, 59, allegedly killed Mayci Breaux, 21, and Jillian Johnson, 33, in a movie theater in Lafayette, La., on July 23 during a showing of the movie “Trainwreck.” He also shot nine other people, some of them multiple times, before fatally shooting himself, according to media reports.

* Melanie Patterson can be reached by telephone at 734-2131 or by e-mail at mpatterson@cullmantimes.com.