Rein Swiber was already having a bad day at work Thursday (April 23) as the manager of the Mall of Louisiana’s Gamestop store in Baton Rouge. Then, they heard what sounded like metallic clangs ringing out. They saw a group of people running away from the food court — right next to his store — before they finally heard someone say it: “gunshot.”
People began running into GameStop as Swiber began to close the gate. Once the stream of people finished running into the store, they pulled the gate to the store all the way down and went to lock it, but they were missing their key.
They told the people who came in for shelter that they weren’t totally secure, and if they wanted, they could go for the nearby exit. The store cleared out. They stayed and were left behind with a gate that wasn’t locked.
Eventually, the gate began to rattle. Swiber knew the sound; it was the gate opening. They panicked for a second until they realized it was their employee.
He was in the food court for lunch when the shooting happened. He seemed fine until he said his leg felt wet and reached down to check it. They had been grazed by a bullet. Swiber did not identify the employer for privacy reasons.
Swiber’s employee was one of six people shot that day — one of them fatally — after two groups got into an argument and opened fire on each other in the mall’s food court. All six victims of the shooting were bystanders. None but the deceased person — 17-year-old Ascension Episcopal student Martha Elizabeth Odom — has had their name released to the public by officials, but others have confirmed the identity of at least one of the injured.
Swiber has been back to their GameStop store once since the shooting, returning with grief counselors. They had a strong negative reaction and described the feeling of trauma as electricity.
“Today is the first day I feel like any muscle in my body has actually been able to relax,” Swiber said.
“You do know (how you’ll feel) if you haven’t done this. And you will not know, hopefully ever.”
The latest from police
Baton Rouge police took five people into custody for questioning shortly after the shooting. Four of whom were released after questioning, police say they are still persons of interest.
“ They refused to answer questions, they lawyered up. We didn't have anything else to be able to hold them on,” but Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse said.
The one who wasn’t released, Markel Lee, 17, was arrested on Friday and charged with one count of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and one count of illegal use of a weapon. Morse said Lee, who has an extensive record in the juvenile court system, turned himself in with his lawyer present. He made his first appearance in court on Monday.
Police announced at a press conference that they were looking for a second unnamed man believed to be involved in the shooting. They’ve shared his picture and are asking for the public to aid in the search.
Baton Rouge District Attorney Hilliar Moore spoke at a press conference on Friday, warning the public that investigations like these take time.
“ It is gonna take them a long time, trust me. Nobody wants to come forward and say what happened to give information on another co-defendant. These officers have to work this case from the bottom up,” Moore said.
Friday’s press conference was also marked by various politicians calling for thoughts, prayers, compassion and justice.
East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sid Edwards asked his community for their prayers, not their judgment.
“ Do not stereotype or pigeonhole or profile all our young people,” Edwards said. “I spent my entire life ministering to young people as a coach and a teacher. 99% of our young people in Baton Rouge — whether they're Black, white, red, blue, Baptist, Catholic — are law-abiding citizens. They're just out there trying to make it and doing the right thing.”
In contrast, Sen. Rick Edmonds, who’s running for Julia Letlow’s former 5th Congressional District seat, wrote on Facebook that he’s asking the federal government to send the National Guard to support state and local efforts in the aftermath of the shooting.
“ The days of treating gang activity like a social symptom are over,” he wrote. “We're now treating this insurgency as it is, and we will meet it with the full and unmitigated weight of both the federal and local authority.”
Gov. Jeff Landry also spoke, taking aim at both parents’ responsibility to raise their children and judges being lenient on punishment — describing the judicial system as abandoning its post — in the wake of the shooting.
“ Judges hold enormous power, but they are not social workers with a gavel,” Landry said. “ If a judge fails to treat gang-driven violence without the gravity it deserves, I'm going to call them out individually, publicly, clearly and directly, and I mean even the federal judges as well.”
Trying to begin healing
On Monday evening, four days after the shooting, the community gathered in front of the mall for a candlelight vigil.
Edwards, State Rep. C. Denise Marcelle and other community leaders hosted the event, inviting a series of pastors to preach on grief and violence.
State Rep. Annie Spell brought a message from Martha Odom’s family to the vigil, sharing an excerpt of an essay Odom wrote for her theology class. In it, Odom reflected on a verse from Revelation, which reads: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things passed away.”
“This reminds me of Jesus’ promise in the Beatitudes of Mathew … when he said ‘Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted,’” Odom wrote. “It’s clear they are telling the same story of a messiah who loves humanity.”
Odom was a high schooler at Ascension Episcopal School, who was reportedly at the mall with friends and schoolmates for senior skip day. Her two friends were among the five others who were injured in the shooting.
“Martha was kind, selfless, compassionate, funny… She was friends with everyone and always made others feel included,” a friend wrote of Odom on Facebook. “She had the sweetest heart and truly wanted the best for everyone. She loved Dr. Pepper, Laufey, heartless curlers, Hamilton, and so many other things.”
Donnie Guillory, another one of the shooting victims, was in a critical condition after he was shot in the crossfire. Guillory is a Special Olympics of Louisiana Athlete. At the vigil, Edwards said he heard Guillory’s condition was improving as of Saturday evening.
After pastors had finished their prayers and testimony, the community lit candles and stood for a moment of silence to begin the healing process.
"Father, we command every person carrying a gun who is using it wrongfully and taking lives, we pray in the name of Jesus that you wrap your arms around them and pull them in," Cathy Toliver, a community activist, said. "I pray for those who are grieving right now. I pray for the families that are here. And God, I even send up a special prayer for those parents who are committing the violence, and they are hurting just like us."
