Police say five suspects are in custody and there is no ongoing threat to the public.
Shooting reported at Louisiana mall
A shooting was reported at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he was working with law enforcement to respond.
BATON ROUGE, LA – One person was killed and five others were injured in a shooting at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge on Thursday, April 23, in what appears to have started as a fight between two groups, city officials said.
Baton Rouge Police Chief Thomas Morse said one person died at a local hospital, one underwent surgery and three others had minor injuries. Another person was taken to another hospital with “very minor injuries,” he told reporters.
Morse and other city officials previously said 10 people were injured.
Mr Morse said five suspects were in custody, adding that police were still “searching for more people who may have been involved”.
Surveillance camera footage showed the two groups getting into an argument and then starting shooting at each other.
“Unfortunately, there were also innocent people in the area who may have been caught in the crossfire,” Morse said, but added there was no longer a “known threat to the general public.”
“Once the investigation begins for the suspect, we will do everything in our power to do so,” he said. “This appears to be a very targeted disagreement between two groups rather than a random act of violence.”
Around 1:40 p.m. local time, about 20 police cars surrounded a shopping mall southeast of downtown Baton Rouge. The crowd panicked and left the mall. Some stopped and hugged each other, recording the incident on their cellphones.
Police gave witnesses little information and told them to avoid the area because there was a gunman. Officials advised people not to turn around and head toward the mall. An ambulance and fire engine were called to the scene.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said he is working with law enforcement to respond to the situation.
“We are aware of a mass shooting at a mall in Louisiana. We are working with law enforcement and will update you as we learn more. Please avoid the area,” Landry wrote in a post on X. “Sharon and I are praying for those affected and appreciate the quick response of law enforcement.”
Witnesses report confusion and fear
FedEx employee Stanley Jackson was on the second floor of the mall when he heard gunshots, believed to be from several types of firearms. Then, he told The Advocate, “everybody started running.”
Jackson saw four people bleeding on the ground, The Advocate reported.
Photographer Laurie Robertson, who was shopping at the mall, said she was on the first floor near the front entrance when she heard the gunshots.
She and other shoppers fled as police cars and ambulances arrived at the scene. “I see everyone and their moms running around the store,” Robertson told The Advocate.
Mayor vows to catch ‘thugs who did this’
Baton Rouge Mayor Sid Edwards promised that law enforcement would arrest those responsible for the violence at the mall.
“We will definitely catch the thugs who did this,” he told reporters at the scene of the shooting. “This doesn’t happen in Baton Rouge. That doesn’t happen. We have full confidence in our law enforcement partners that we’re going to come out and get them and get them off the streets.”
Asked about two tragedies in Louisiana this week, a shooting at a shopping mall and the weekend massacre of eight children in Shreveport, Edwards said people “have a right to be concerned.”
“Sometimes the devil lives everywhere,” he said. “This is one of those situations. No matter how much law enforcement, social programs, etc., if someone decides to do something like this, they’re going to do it. And in that case, sometimes all we can do is react.”
