Exchange of gunfire inside Mall of Louisiana leaves 1 person dead and 5 wounded

Police caution tape scene in this undated file image. (AP file)

BATON ROUGE, La. — Two groups exchanged gunfire inside a food court Thursday at the Mall of Louisiana, killing one person and wounding five more, police said.

Authorities had initially said as many as 10 people were injured, but the number was changed a few hours after the shooting in Baton Rouge. Police said five people were arrested.

“If you’re going to act like this in Baton Rouge, if you’re going to do these things, you’re going to get caught,” Mayor Sid Edwards said.

At around 1:30 p.m., the two groups argued inside the food court and started shooting at each other, Police Chief TJ Morse said.

The chief asked witnesses to provide any video they have of the shooting.

“Right now there is no known threat to the public,” Morse said.

By late afternoon, dozens of police cars still were clustered in the parking lot, multiple helicopters hovered overhead and armed officers in bulletproof vests patrolled the area.

Mall spokesperson Lindsay Kahn called it a “frightening day” for everyone there.

Desire Batton, who works at a clothing store, said she and other workers dashed inside a breakroom to protect themselves.

“We hid in there until cops came and got us,” Batton said, adding it was a terrifying experience.

Kennedy Barnum, 22, said she had gone to the mall to get lunch at the food court when she heard a woman on the phone outside say, “I’ll call you back. There’s an active shooter in the mall.”

Within five minutes, Barnum said, law enforcement had swarmed the mall. She saw people running and crying, including one girl she described as “hysterical.”

“We spoke to a security guard there and she told us that there was an active shooter there, people were shot and injured, and we should leave immediately,” Barnum said.

It’s at least the second high-profile case of gun violence in Louisiana this week. A father fatally shot eight children, including seven of his own, in an attack on his family Sunday morning that stretched across two houses in a Shreveport neighbourhood, police said. Two women, including the gunman’s wife who was the mother of their children, were critically wounded.

The Associated Press