NOT ONE… BUT MULTIPLE SHOTS FIRED IN A PLACE MEANT TO BE SAFE. A busy mall became the center of a deadly shooting on April 23. Martha Odom was among those caught in the chaos. Investigators say the situation escalated quickly, leaving no time to react. Witness accounts suggest confusion about who the shooter was aiming at. Authorities are now looking into movements before the gunfire started… The truth behind what triggered it is still unfolding… 📌 Full story in the comments

Louisiana Mall Mass Shooting Suspect Charged, Victim Identified as ‘Joyful’ 17-Year-Old High School Senior

Martha Odom was identified as the person killed in the Mall of Louisiana shooting

Martha Odom.Credit : Office of the Louisiana Attorney General/Facebook

NEED TO KNOW

Martha Odom, a 17-year-old high school senior, was identified as the victim killed in a mass shooting at a Louisiana mall on April 23
Police announced that a suspect, Markel Lee, 17, had been charged with murder
Five others, including two of Odom’s classmates, were wounded in the shooting

A 17-year-old high school senior was identified as the victim killed in a mass shooting at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, La. Police also said that a suspect had been charged with murder in connection with the incident.

Martha Odom, 17, was identified as the person killed in the Thursday, April 23 shooting that also left at least five others injured.

The Ascension Episcopal School in Lafayette, La., where Odom was a senior, said in a Facebook post that four other students were also present during the shooting, two of whom were injured.

“Her classmates, Ascension faculty, and our Blue Gator families remember Martha as a joyful presence whose kindness and infectious enthusiasm brought light to all who knew her,” the school said.

The Times-Picayune reported that Odom wrote for her school’s newspaper, was the captain of the girls’ soccer team and planned to study creative writing at Sewanee.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a Facebook post that she has been friends with Odom’s family “for decades.”

“There are no words for the devastating loss of innocent life,” Murrill said. “I’m praying for her, her family and friends, and the entire Lafayette community during this heartbreaking time.”

The paper also reported that she and her friends were caught in the crossfire during the shooting.

WBRZ, citing authorities, reported that the shooting broke out in the mall’s food court, the result of an argument between two groups of people.

On Friday, April 24, the Baton Rouge Police Department, which initially said five people had been taken into custody after the shooting, said that a 17-year-old suspect had been charged.

Police said Markel Lee was charged with first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and one count of illegal use of a firearm after the teen turned himself in.

Lee is currently in custody in East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, police said. It is not immediately clear if he has retained an attorney or entered a plea.