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S at u r d ay, a p r i l 25, 2026
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ONE ARRESTED IN MALL SHOOTING
Police say second suspect wanted for questioning
PROVIDED PHOTO
Martha Odom was a senior at Ascension Episcopal School in youngsville.
‘Joyful presence’ Martha Odom, Lafayette teen killed in mall shooting, remembered for her infectious enthusiasm BY ANDREA GALLO Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse announces the arrest of a subject during an update on Friday on the investigation of the shooting at the Mall of Louisiana. BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer
Police booked a teenage suspect Friday in the mass shooting at the Mall of Louisiana a day earlier and released a photo of a second person wanted for questioning in the crime, which killed a 17-year-old girl and injured five others. Markel Lee, 17, is the first suspect identified by law enforcement since the shooting. Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse said at a news conference that Lee turned himself in earlier Friday and was booked with firstdegree murder, five counts of attempted firstdegree murder, and illegal use of a weapon. Morse said at least one unidentified suspect remains at large and asked for the public’s help in identifying and locating him.
“It’s really early in the investigation still,” Morse said. “We have to give the detectives time to do their job when they’re combing through that much evidence and surveillance video.” It is unclear how many shooters were involved, as well as how many other people might have played a role. Martha Odom, a 17-year-old Lafayette high school student, died after being shot in the chest. Of the five others shot, four have been released from the hospital and one, 43-year-old Donnie Guillory, remains in critical condition, authorities said Friday. In the immediate hours following the shooting, four persons of interest turned
ä See SHOOTING, page 4A
Baton Rouge police released this photo of a suspect in Thursday’s shooting.
She was a writer, a dancer, a Dr Pepper enthusiast. Martha Odom, 17, died after being caught in the crossfire of a shooting Thursday at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. Odom, a senior at Ascension Episcopal School in Youngsville, visited the mall with friends for their “senior skip day” as graduation approached in just a few weeks. Odom planned to attend Sewanee, also known as the University of the South, where she was going to study English and creative writing. Instead, she and two other classmates from Ascension Episcopal were hit in the crossfire in a food court shooting that police say happened when two groups started arguing and drew guns. She died from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the Coroner’s Office. Police announced the arrest Friday of Markel Lee, also 17, who was booked with first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder, and illegal use of a weapon. They also released a photo of another suspect they believe was involved in the shooting as well. Another victim, Donnie Guillory, remains in critical condition, police said Friday. After Odom’s name became public Friday morning, an outpouring of tributes followed. Her classmates held a prayer service at Ascension Episcopal and left flower bouquets in her parking spot on what was supposed to be the final day of
ä See JOYFUL, page 5A
District attorney files suit against Metro Council, mayor
parish’s police jury for addi- city-parish pay for all costs assoMoore says office can’t function ‘as constitutionally mandated’ that tional funding. The court there ciated with the lawsuit.
BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer
District Attorney Hillar Moore filed a lawsuit against the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council and Mayor-President Sid Edwards in district court Thursday, arguing the local government is not funding his office to the level the law requires. “Filing this lawsuit was obviously not my first choice, but I have exhausted all other avenues to obtain necessary funding to fight
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crime and fulfill the duties I swore to fulfill when I took the oath of office,” Moore said in a statement. Moore has publicly stated for months that he planned to file the suit — the latest in his attempts to address his office’s Moore funding woes. The suit asks the court to compel the city-parish to approve in full his latest budget request of $22.6
million so that Moore’s office can perform its required “ministerial duties.” The city-parish’s proposed budget provides only about $7.4 million in funding to his office. “In fact, the budgeted amount will make it virtually impossible for the District Attorney’s office to function as constitutionally mandated,” Moore argues. Moore’s petition to the court references a case from the 1980s where the district attorney in Washington Parish, citing the same state laws, successfully sued
found such funding is a “mandatory duty and not a discretionary duty” so long as prosecutors are “reasonable” in what they are requesting. “The district attorney simply cannot efficiently and properly operate his constitutional office and perform his constitutional duties without adequate funding,” according to the suit. “The failure to sufficiently fund his office results in irreparable harm to the safety and welfare of the people the district attorney is elected to serve.” Moore is also seeking that the
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When Moore previously spoke about his planned lawsuit against the city-parish, Mayor-President Sid Edwards said he would consider it a “friendly lawsuit” and echoed those comments again Friday. The mayor said he supports Moore and fully understands his decision. “The DA is at a critical point, along with the coroner, the public defender and city court,” Edwards said. “So, I do not take any offense
ä See SUIT, page 4A
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