On Thursday afternoon, a gunman launched an attack inside a Louisiana shopping center, sending shockwaves throughout the community.

The shooting erupted around 1:20 p.m. in the bustling food court of the Mall of Louisiana, located in Baton Rouge. According to police reports, at least ten individuals sustained injuries during the incident.

Several victims are in critical condition, with some undergoing emergency surgery, as confirmed by Chief Morse of the Baton Rouge Police Department.

Law enforcement is actively pursuing one or possibly two suspects who are still at large following the attack.

Chief Morse indicated that the shooting appears to have been a targeted confrontation between two rival groups.

In the aftermath, chaos ensued as frightened shoppers fled into the parking lot, where police officers swiftly guided them to safety.

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

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 at the time. 

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

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 acknowledged the 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. 

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

Baton Rouge Mayor Sid Edwards arrived at the mall shortly after the shooting. 

‘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. 

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

While standing outside the mall, 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 was seen circling the area in an effort to hunt down the shooters. 

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 guards, she said. 

The employee recalled seeing a lot of blood and a woman receiving CPR. 

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

‘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 shooting a firearm ‘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. Additional updates will be provided as the situation evolves,’ the hospitals said in a joint statement. 

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

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, Shamar Elkins, shot and killed eight children. 

Elkins, 31, opened fire at a home in Shreveport, Louisiana, on 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.