One person is dead, and at least five others are injured after a shooting at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge Thursday afternoon (April 23).
The shooting was reported at 1:22 p.m., when two groups of people got into a disagreement in the mall’s food court, Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse said. Guns were pulled out, and shots were fired after words were exchanged in front of the food counters. All six victims were reportedly bystanders.
“This was not a random act,” Morse said at a Thursday evening news conference. “This was a disagreement, a fight, between two different groups of people that we are still trying to unravel. And unfortunately, innocent victims got caught in the crossfire.” Law enforcement was able to respond almost immediately to the shooting because a Baton Rouge police officer was working patrol duty at the mall at that time, Morse said. An East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office deputy was also in the mall’s parking lot. Louisiana State Police and the FBI also responded to the scene.
East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sid Edwards said the victims were taken to local hospitals for treatment. One of them was pronounced dead at the hospital, and another is in critical condition.
“Today is a very bad day for Baton Rouge,” Edwards said. “Our community is hurting, and our hearts are with the victims and families.”
Morse said police would not release identifying information on the deceased or the other injured victims until Friday morning out of respect for the families involved.
Baton Rouge police have five suspects in custody, Morse said, including one who was detained at a subdivision in Watson, Louisiana, by the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, according to Sheriff Jason Ard. The suspects were detained thanks to video footage of the incident obtained by police — some of which was sourced by community members.
Earlier in the day, outside of the mall, Edwards praised law enforcement’s response to the shooting while thanking the public for their help.
“This is what response time is supposed to look like. If you’re going to act like this in Baton Rouge… you’re going to be caught,” he said. "People are starting to talk now. I want to thank the people who contacted Crime Stoppers, the people that have the video, and the people that have the evidence. God bless you.”
Morse said no arrests have been made at this time, and none of the injured victims are being detained as suspects.
At least one handgun has been recovered by police, but the number of guns used and the total number of people involved in the shooting are unknown.
In a statement on her Facebook page, Lafayette Mayor-President Monique B. Boulet said three of the victims were seniors at Ascension Episcopal School in Lafayette.
“We are heartbroken by the senseless violence that happened today at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge,” Boulet said in her statement. “I've reached out to Baton Rouge Mayor-President, Sid Edwards, to offer Lafayette's full support in whatever way we can as families in both cities begin to deal with the aftermath of this tragedy.”
Morse said the investigation is still active and detectives will be working through Thursday night to get more answers ahead of Friday’s update.
Gov. Jeff Landry and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill released statements that they are monitoring the situation. A moment of silence was held in the state legislature Thursday afternoon once news of the shooting was shared.
FBI director Kash Patel confirmed that agents from New Orleans and Baton Rouge are aiding in the investigation. Charles Koger, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office, said BRPD is leading the investigation.
The AP spoke to Kennedy Barnum, 22, who said she was at the mall to get lunch at the food court when she heard a woman on the phone outside say, “I’ll call you back. There’s an active shooter in the mall.”
Within five minutes, Barnum said, law enforcement had swarmed the mall. She saw people running and crying, including one girl she described as “hysterical.”
“We spoke to a security guard there, and she told us that there was an active shooter there, people were shot and injured, and we should leave immediately,” Barnum told the AP.
It’s the second instance of gun violence in the state this week. A father fatally shot eight children, including seven of his own, in an attack on his family Sunday morning that stretched across two houses in a Shreveport neighborhood, police said. Two women, including the gunman’s wife who was the mother of their children, were critically wounded.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
