Gunfire erupted between two groups at the Mall of Louisiana on Thursday afternoon, April 23, 2026, killing one person and wounding five others in the food court of Louisiana’s largest shopping center, Baton Rouge Police Chief Thomas “T.J.” Morse Jr. said.
The violence broke out at 1:22 p.m., sending terrified shoppers and employees running for cover. Five people were taken into custody following the exchange.
“Two groups of people got into an argument inside the food court and started shooting at each other,” Morse said. “Unfortunately, there were some innocent people who were in the area that might have also caught some rounds.”
Among the wounded were three high school seniors from Ascension Episcopal School, a PK3-through-12 school in Lafayette, according to Lafayette Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boulet, who announced the news in a Facebook post.
“We are heartbroken by the senseless violence that happened today at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge,” Boulet wrote, asking the community to “join us in holding all of these families close in prayer.”
School spokesperson Rachel Delcambre declined to release further information, citing “deep respect for the families and the sensitivity of this situation.” Morse said police would not identify any of the victims until relatives were notified.
One victim remained in critical condition Thursday evening. Four others suffered minor injuries, officials said, revising an initial estimate that 10 people had been hurt. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill confirmed that some innocent bystanders were struck by the gunfire.
The incident drew a massive law enforcement response including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Dozens of police cruisers filled the parking lot by late afternoon, helicopters hovered overhead, and officers in bulletproof vests patrolled the grounds.
A Baton Rouge Police officer assigned to the mall and a sheriff’s deputy in the parking lot rushed toward the gunfire as it broke out, according to police accounts. Detectives are still piecing together how many weapons were fired and how many shooters were involved. No formal arrests had been announced as authorities interviewed the five in custody to determine their roles.
“This is still an ongoing investigation, and we’re still looking for more people who may be involved,” Morse said.
Investigators characterized the bloodshed as a targeted dispute rather than an indiscriminate assault on the public. Morse, citing surveillance footage, said the violence began as a verbal clash that escalated within seconds.
According to officials briefed on the investigation, there is no known continuing threat to the public. Morse described the incident as a “very targeted kind of disagreement” and pledged to track down anyone else connected to the shooting.
Witnesses described a terrifying scene as gunshots rang out. Alex Theriot, a commercial electrician working on a construction project a few hundred feet from the food court, thought a gunman might be moving store to store. He quickly screwed shut the door of his work site and hunkered down with two other workers.
“Everybody was running and screaming,” Theriot told The Associated Press. “I thought it could have been a terrorist attack.”
The first sign of danger came in the form of sudden, sharp cracks and the sound of glass breaking. Desire Batton, who works at a clothing store, fled with coworkers into a breakroom. “We hid in there until cops came and got us,” she said.
Kennedy Barnum, 22, had walked in to grab lunch when she overheard a woman outside on a cellphone saying, “I’ll call you back. There’s an active shooter in the mall.” Signi Dreyer, a carousel operator at the mall, was among those who scrambled to safety.
Mall spokesperson Lindsay Kahn called it a “frightening day” and confirmed the mall would not reopen Thursday.
The shooting lands in a state still raw from another tragedy earlier in the week. On Sunday morning in a Shreveport neighborhood, a father fatally shot eight children — seven of his own and one nephew — in a mass shooting that shook Louisiana. Two women, including the gunman’s wife, were critically wounded.
Gov. Jeff Landry, Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sid Edwards, and Murrill all responded to Thursday’s bloodshed, which further compounds a week of grief across the state. The quick succession of violent incidents has rattled public officials grappling with how to respond.
Investigators were continuing to collect surveillance footage and appealing for witnesses to share any video they recorded. Federal agents joined the investigation at the scene and were assisting local police with ballistics and forensic work expected to stretch into the weekend.
For shoppers who fled with their hands over their heads, and for the families now waiting on word from hospitals, the afternoon stood as another stark marker in a week Louisiana will not soon forget.