Police said one suspect remained wanted after gunfire erupted in the Mall of Louisiana food court.
BATON ROUGE, La. — A 17-year-old suspect turned himself in Friday after a food court shooting at the Mall of Louisiana killed Lafayette high school senior Martha Odom and wounded five other people, Baton Rouge police said.
Markel Lee was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on one count of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of illegal use of a weapon. Police Chief T.J. Morse said investigators were still looking for another suspect and reviewing video, witness accounts and evidence from the Thursday afternoon shooting.
The gunfire was reported at about 1:22 p.m. Thursday in the food court area of the Mall of Louisiana on Bluebonnet Boulevard, one of the Baton Rouge area’s largest shopping centers. Morse said two groups met inside the mall, argued and then began shooting. He said the victims appeared to be innocent bystanders and were not part of the dispute. “This was not a random incident,” Morse said Friday, adding that investigators were examining whether the conflict began as a social media dispute. Police first detained several people after officers swarmed the mall, but officials said Friday that those people had been released as the investigation continued.
Odom, 17, was a senior at Ascension Episcopal School in Lafayette. School officials said two other seniors were wounded and two additional students were present but were not hit. One wounded victim, 43-year-old Donnie Guillory, remained hospitalized in critical condition Friday, officials said. Police had not released all victim names or full medical updates. Morse said officers had recovered evidence from the scene and asked people who recorded cellphone video or photos from inside or near the mall to provide them to investigators. Authorities also released an image of another person they wanted to identify in connection with the shooting.
Lee’s arrest changed the case from a broad search for people of interest to a homicide prosecution, but police said the investigation remained active. Under Louisiana law, 17-year-olds are handled as adults in the state criminal justice system. Officials said more arrests were possible as detectives reviewed mall surveillance footage and interviewed witnesses. Morse said the other people initially detained were considered persons of interest but were released because police did not have enough evidence to hold them at that time. No public court hearing date had been announced by officials in the first update after Lee’s booking.
Ascension Episcopal School said Odom’s classmates, teachers and families remembered her as a joyful presence whose kindness shaped the school community. She wrote for the school newspaper and had planned to attend the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, to study English and creative writing. Lafayette Mayor-President Monique Boulet said Odom was “a really great, hardworking young woman” who was close to graduation. Students placed flowers at Odom’s designated parking spot Friday, while school leaders said counseling and pastoral support were available on campus for students, families and staff.
The shooting sent shoppers, workers and students scrambling through stores and corridors as officers arrived. Witnesses described people dropping to the ground, hiding behind gates and crowding into back rooms. A mall-assigned Baton Rouge police officer and an East Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputy were near the property when calls came in, officials said. Morse said officers ran toward the gunfire and helped treat the wounded before more police, deputies, firefighters and paramedics reached the scene. Mayor-President Sid Edwards said the response showed “our heroes showed up with their best” during one of the city’s worst moments.
Gov. Jeff Landry joined state and local officials Friday and said the shooting appeared tied to a dispute that moved into a public space. He said he had spoken with federal law enforcement leaders and was asking agencies to prepare for a targeted warrant sweep connected to people involved in the case. The governor said public places, schools and streets could not become battlegrounds for armed groups. The shooting came days after another deadly mass shooting in Louisiana, when authorities said a father killed eight children in Shreveport before dying after a police pursuit.
The Mall of Louisiana said it was heartbroken and angered by the violence and was working with Baton Rouge police. The property remained closed while investigators processed the scene and officials assessed when the mall could reopen. Police said there was no continuing public threat after the mall was secured, but the search for the second suspect and the review of evidence continued through Friday.
Author note: Last updated April 25, 2026.