At least one person was killed and five others were injured after a shooting at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge on Thursday, April 23, 2026, according to Baton Rouge police. Police Chief TJ Morse said five people were in custody by Thursday evening, but investigators were still trying to determine whether additional people were involved. Authorities said the shooting was not believed to be random and appeared to have started after an argument between two groups in the mall’s food court.
The evening update narrowed the initial public casualty count from earlier in the day. In its first report, The Associated Press reported that 10 people had been taken to hospitals and no arrests had yet been announced. By later Thursday, Morse said one person had died, five others were injured, and five people were in custody. Police also said they were still searching for others who may have been involved.
Police Say Food Court Argument Led to Gunfire
According to police, the shooting was reported around 1:22 p.m. inside the mall’s food court. After reviewing surveillance video, investigators said the violence appeared to have started when two groups got into an argument and began shooting. Morse said the attack did not appear to be random, though he also indicated that bystanders may have been caught in the crossfire.
That distinction matters because police are treating the case as a targeted dispute rather than an indiscriminate attack on shoppers. Even so, the setting made the consequences wider. A food court in a busy shopping mall left many people exposed, and authorities have suggested that not everyone injured was necessarily involved in the original confrontation.
The investigation remains active, and police have not yet offered a full public account of the sequence of gunfire, how many weapons were used, or exactly how many suspects took part. Authorities said surveillance video and witness statements are central to the case. That means the basic outline of what happened is now public, but many of the details that would explain how the shooting unfolded are still being sorted out.
Victims and Custody Numbers Changed as the Investigation Moved Forward
By Thursday evening, Baton Rouge police said one person had died and five others had been injured. Morse said one of the injured victims was in surgery, while three others had minor injuries and another had what he described as very minor injuries. The person who died was not immediately identified in the evening briefing.
The change in numbers became an important part of the story. Earlier in the day, emergency officials and law enforcement said 10 people had been taken to hospitals. Later reporting from WWNO and WAFB, citing Morse’s evening update, clarified that one person had been killed and five others injured, with five people now in custody. Police did not release further details on those detained or say what charges they may face.
Morse also said investigators were still looking for more people who may have been involved. That means the custody count does not necessarily reflect the full number of participants. At this stage, police have made clear that they believe more than one person was involved in the shooting, but they have not publicly said whether all shooters have been found.
Federal and Local Agencies Joined the Response
The response to the shooting quickly expanded beyond local police. Authorities said multiple agencies were assisting, including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Local and state officials also responded as investigators worked to secure the scene, clear the mall and gather evidence.
Police said there was no known continuing threat to the public by the time of the later briefings. That helped calm immediate fears after the early reports from inside the mall, where shoppers and employees fled the food court area as shots were fired. But while the immediate threat may have passed, the investigation remained fluid as officers reviewed footage, interviewed witnesses and tracked down people believed to be connected to the shooting.
Authorities also asked the public for help. Investigators urged anyone with cellphone video or information from inside the mall to contact police or Crime Stoppers. In a crowded public setting like the Mall of Louisiana, that evidence can be critical in reconstructing where individuals were standing, when the first shots were fired and who may have fled the scene afterward.
What Is Confirmed and What Remains Unclear
Several key facts have now been confirmed by law enforcement. Police say the shooting started after an argument between two groups in the food court. One person was killed, five others were injured, and five people were in custody by Thursday evening. Authorities have also said they are still searching for others who may have been involved.
At the same time, several important questions remain unanswered. Police have not publicly identified the person who died. They have not announced charges for the five people in custody. They have also not released a final explanation of how many people opened fire, whether all of the injured were bystanders, and whether every person directly involved has been accounted for.
For now, the picture is that of a fast-moving investigation after gunfire erupted in one of Baton Rouge’s busiest public spaces. The early hospital count was later narrowed by police, arrests followed, and investigators said the violence appears tied to a dispute between two groups rather than a random attack. But until authorities release more information on the suspects, the victim and the evidence gathered at the mall, the full scope of what happened at the Mall of Louisiana is still being pieced together.
