Active shooter at Louisiana mall food court leaves at least 10 injured

An active shooter opened fire at a food court inside a Louisiana mall around lunchtime on Thursday.

At least 10 people were injured in the gunfire at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge after gunfire rang out near the mall’s food court around 1.20pm, police said. 

An unknown number of victims are in critical condition, with some of them being rushed into emergency surgery at the hospital, according to Chief Morse with the Baton Rouge Police Department. 

Authorities are looking for one or two shooters, and all of the mall’s entrances have been closed. 

The incident is believed to have been ‘targeted’ between two groups of people, Morse said. 

Paramedics rushed to the scene and set up a triage area near JCPenney, the outlet reported.   

Panicked people were seen running out of the building and into the parking lot as authorities escorted them to their vehicles. 

Other harrowing footage showed officers carrying young children and their mother to safety. 

An active shooter opened fire at a food court inside the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge on Thursday afternoon

The FBI , SWAT, the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, and State Police Troopers are at the scene

The FBI, SWAT, the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, and State Police Troopers are at the scene. 

Shoppers and employees were shuffled into tunnels that run along the mall’s tunnels after shots rang out, according to a WBRZ reporter who was at the mall when shots rang out. 

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry posted to X after hearing of the shooting. 

‘I am aware of the active shooter scene at the Mall of Louisiana. I am in coordination with law enforcement and we will update as we know more,’ he wrote. 

‘Please avoid the area. Sharon and I are praying for those affected and are grateful for a quick response by our law enforcement officials. 

Attorney General Liz Murill also acknowledge shooting. 

‘I have spoken to District Attorney Hillar Moore, who is actively monitoring the situation involving a weapon or weapons being discharged in the Food Court at the Mall of Louisiana,’ she said. 

Paramedics rushed to the scene and are setting up a triage area near JCPenney

‘Multiple law enforcement agencies are responding – please avoid the area. More details will be available soon.’ 

Baton Rouge Mayor Sid Edwards said he is currently at the mall. 

‘We have set up a command post. There has been a shooting with multiple victims. All civilians have been safely escorted out of the mall. Please keep the victims and their families in your prayers,’ Edwards posted. 

While standing outside the mall after the shooting, Mayor Edwards said: ‘To the thugs who did this, we will catch you. We’re not have this in Baton Rouge. It’s not gonna happen.’ 

Chief Morse has urged the public to send in any video footage they might have of the incident. 

A state police helicopter is currently circling the area in an effort to hunt down the shooters who remain on the run. 

A mall employee who was cleaning the carousel in the food court at the time told WBRZ she thought someone was setting off fireworks at first

A mall employee who was cleaning the carousel in the food court at the time told WBRZ she thought someone was setting off fireworks at first. 

Once she realized it was gunfire, she radioed in ‘shots fired’ to security, she said. 

The employee recalled seeing blood and a woman receiving CPR. 

‘I grabbed some cleaning rags to try and put on their wounds. One guy was bleeding tremendously,’ she stated. 

The employee said she saw a male open fire and started shooting ‘randomly’. 

Two area hospitals,  Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital, have since been placed on lockdown. 

‘We are asking that visitors and guests refrain from visiting our facility at this time, our emergency rooms will remain open at this time. Additional updates will be provided as the situation evolves,’ the hospitals said in a joint statement.  

The violent incident comes just days after a Louisiana father shot and killed eight children

The violent incident comes just days after a Louisiana father shot and killed eight children. 

Shamar Elkins, 31, opened fire at a home in Shreveport, Louisiana, on early Sunday morning during a domestic disturbance with his 34-year-old wife, Shaneiqua Pugh.

Elkins, who was fatally shot by police during a vehicle chase, killed his seven children and a nephew ‘execution style’ in one of the deadliest family massacres in American history. 

‘The devil lives everywhere,’ the mayor told reporters on Thursday afternoon.