BATON ROUGE, La. — A 17-year-old was killed and five other people were wounded on Thursday after an exchange of gunfire in the food court area of the Mall of Louisiana, authorities said.
The shooting occurred at about 1:22 p.m. CT at the mall in Baton Rouge, WAFB reported. Police said an argument between two groups of people escalated into violence, according to The Advocate newspaper.
The police did not release the name of the person who died. Baton Rouge police Chief T.J. Morse said the victim was taken to an area hospital and died at the facility, The New York Times reported.
One victim underwent surgery and three others had minor injuries, Morse said during a news conference. One other victim was transported to a different hospital with minor injuries, the chief said.
“I want to stress that this was not a random act,” Morse told reporters. “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.”
Of those four other victims, one person had surgery, while three had minor injuries, Morse said. One person was also transported to a different hospital with minor injuries, he said.
The Associated Press reported that three high school seniors from Ascension Episcopal School in Lafayette were among the victims of the shooting, according to a Facebook post from Lafayette Parish President Monique Blanco Boulet.
“We are heartbroken by the senseless violence that happened today at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge,” she said,
During a news conference on Thursday night, officials with the Baton Rouge Police Department said that five people have been taken into custody in connection with the shooting.
Mall workers and patrons scattered for cover after shots were fired.
“I heard a loud bang and then another loud bang,” Signi Dreyer, who works at the mall’s inside carousel, told WAFB. “At first, I thought someone was shooting fireworks in the food court. I turned around, and I saw people dropping to the ground, and I immediately saw the gun.”
Alex Theriot, a commercial electrician, was working on a construction project in the mall a few hundred feet from the food court. After hearing shots, he quickly screwed the door shut of his work site and took shelter with two other workers, the AP reported.
“Everybody was running and screaming,” Theriot told the news organization. “I thought it could have been a terrorist attack.”
Morse said he believes there are more suspects, WAFB reported.
“In no way is this investigation over, and we do believe more people are involved,” Morse said.
Jason Ard, the sheriff of Livingston Parish, said on social media on Thursday evening that his deputies had arrested a person of interest in Watson, located 20 miles northeast of the mall, the Times reported.
He added that the suspect “is probably tied to the shooting.”
In a statement, Mall of Louisiana spokesperson Lindsay Kahn said they were “heartbroken and angered” by the shooting.
“We are working closely with the Baton Rouge Police Department and appreciate their leadership and partnership. We continue to assist with their investigation, however we can,” Kahn said. “This has been a frightening day for our shopping center community, and our thoughts are with all of those who were impacted by this senseless act of violence.”