A Louisiana teenager, tragically caught in a mall shooting, was participating in “senior skip day” after recently returning from a spring break adventure in New York City. Authorities have since apprehended a suspect linked to the incident.
Martha Odom, aged 17, was savoring the last stretch of her high school journey alongside two friends when she became an unintended victim during a violent clash between two groups inside the Mall of Louisiana’s food court in Baton Rouge on Thursday, according to officials.
“We mourn the loss of our senior, Martha Odom, following yesterday’s tragic off-campus event,” Ascension Episcopal School in Lafayette expressed in a statement on Friday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the two students who are recovering, as well as the other two who were present.”
The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office reported that Odom succumbed to a gunshot wound to the chest.
Her death has been classified as a homicide, and five additional individuals, including two of Odom’s classmates, were injured in the shooting.
Just a week prior to the incident, Odom had shared her excitement about her recent trip to New York City, as reported by NOLA.
The senior, who was an editor for the student newspaper The Authored Ascencion, shared a detailed recap of her trip to Manhattan.
“This spring break was one to remember for my family as we took a much-anticipated trip to New York City! This visit was the senior trip I picked for my family,” Odom wrote in the April 16 article. “The balance of city bustle and blooming spring flowers is unmatched, and I am so blessed to have been able to visit during this time of year!”
Odom’s jam-packed sightseeing week excursion included stops at Raising Cane’s in Times Square with her sister, dinner at Carmine’s restaurant, the Easter Bonnet Festival, watching a Rangers game at Madison Square Garden and multiple Broadway shows, along with stops at famed tourist attractions.
Odom, who was expected to attend the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., in the fall, was a captain of her school’s girls’ soccer team, an avid lover of the arts and a dancer teaching 5 and 6-year-olds at her local ballet center, according to her author profile.
“Our hearts are shattered. We lost one of our own. Our beautiful dancer, Martha Odom,” The Ballet Studio wrote on Facebook. “A bright light â fearless, joyful, full of life. The kind of soul that fills a room without even trying.
“Our studio feels different today. Quieter. Heavier. As if a piece of us is missing⦠because it is,” the studio said.
Sen. John Kennedy (R. La.) slammed the violence that led to Odom’s death.
“Becky and I are heartbroken over the devastating loss of Martha Odom,” Kennedy wrote on Facebook.
“Martha was a 17-year-old high school student beloved by all who knew her. Her life should never have been cut short by the senseless violence we saw at the Mall of Louisiana. Our prayers are with her family, friends, and communityâand all those injured in this tragedy.”
Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Monique Boulet said her “heart dropped” after learning of Odom’s death.
âMartha Odom was just a really great, hardworking young woman. Ready for some great things in life, and so itâs tragic, and itâs sad,” Boulet said, according to WAFB. âYoungsters with guns is never a good idea unless itâs in a blind hunting ducks. Teenagers⦠You know, itâs tough.â
On Friday, Markel Lee, 17, turned himself over to police for his involvement in the shooting, the Baton Rouge Police Department announced.
The alleged gunman was charged with first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and one count of illegal use of a weapon.
He is being held in East Baton Rouge Jail without bond, according to inmate records viewed by The Post.
Police also shared a photo of another person “connected to the shooting.”
The unidentified individual captured on security cameras inside the mall appears to be a black male wearing a blue hoodie.
