Ten people were injured, including some critically, on Thursday afternoon when gunfire broke out in the food court at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, the authorities said.
T.J. Morse, the chief of the Baton Rouge Police Department, said during a brief news conference on Thursday that the shooting appeared “targeted.”
Two groups of people got into an argument in the food court of the mall around 1:20 p.m. and started shooting at one another, he said. While bystanders were also shot, Chief Morse said, “It does not appear to be a random act of violence.”
The precise condition of the victims was not immediately known, but Chief Morse said “at least a couple” of people sustained trauma and were in surgery.
The scene is no longer active, Chief Morse said. The Baton Rouge Police Department said in a post on social media that it had five suspects in custody in connection with the shooting. The investigation is still open, Chief Morse said.
Sid Edwards, the mayor-president of Baton Rouge, La., said on social media that there had been a shooting with multiple victims, and that “all civilians” had been safely escorted out of the mall.
Liz Murrill, the attorney general of Louisiana, said on social media that “a weapon or weapons” had been discharged in the mall’s food court.
Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana advised people to avoid the area near the mall, which is about nine miles southeast of downtown Baton Rouge.
The Louisiana State Police responded to the mall to assist the Baton Rouge Police Department and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office with the shooting investigation, and troopers helped secure the scene, a spokeswoman for the agency said.
Mr. Edwards said during the news conference that residents had the right to be concerned about the shooting and public safety in Louisiana.
The shooting at the mall came less than a week after a shooting rampage that killed eight children and wounded two adults in Shreveport, La., about 250 miles northwest of Baton Rouge.
“The devil lives everywhere,” Mr. Edwards said.
Hannah Ziegler is a general assignment reporter for The Times, covering topics such as crime, business, weather, pop culture and online trends.
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