A teenager has been identified as the victim killed in a shooting at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge Thursday afternoon, authorities confirmed Friday. Martha Odom, a senior at Ascension Episcopal School in Lafayette, was fatally struck when gunfire erupted in the mall's food court during a confrontation between two groups.
Five additional people were wounded in the attack. Among the injured is a 43-year-old man who remains hospitalized in critical condition, according to Baton Rouge Police Chief T.J. Morse.
A 17-year-old suspect, identified as Markel Lee, turned himself in to authorities on Friday and now faces charges including first-degree murder and multiple counts of attempted murder, Chief Morse announced at a news conference.
Police say they are still searching for a second suspect connected to the shooting. Five individuals who were detained at the scene Thursday have since been released pending further investigation.
School Remembers Student as 'Joyful Presence'
Ascension Episcopal School released a statement describing Odom as a "joyful presence whose kindness and infectious enthusiasm brought light to all who knew her." The school noted that two of its students were wounded in the shooting, while two others were witnesses to the violence.
Gang Violence Spills Into Public Spaces
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry characterized the shooting as a "deeply troubling act of violence" rooted in neighbourhood gang disputes that have increasingly moved into public gathering spaces.
"This conduct is not going to be tolerated in this state," Landry said at the news conference.
An employee working at the mall described the chaotic scene to ABC Baton Rouge affiliate WBRZ. "I heard a loud 'pop' and then another 'pop,'" she recalled. "I turn around and I see people dropping to the floor and then I saw the gun. And he was turning around, shooting randomly."
The worker said she immediately alerted mall security, reporting "Shots fired in the food court, people are down, people are hit." She described the aftermath as "total chaos" with "blood everywhere."
"I've never seen anything like this in my life," she said.
Mall Closed Out of Respect
The Mall of Louisiana remained closed Friday "out of respect for the victims," according to mall management.
This article is based on reporting from ABC News.