Governor Jeff Landry believes there are plenty of people to blame for the Mall of Louisiana mass shooting.
Police have arrested 17-year-old Markel Lee and are currently searching for another suspect in the fatal shooting that claimed the life of Ascension Episcopal School student Martha Odom and left many others injured. Landry believes the fault lies not just with those who ultimately pulled the triggers, but with the parents and judges who failed to act in a way that would have stopped the shooting in the first place.
Watch:
Louisiana Governor @JeffLandry blaming parents and judges after Thursday’s mass shooting at the Mall of Louisiana.
Watch the full press conference: https://t.co/gfS5WXQ3cX pic.twitter.com/6VIfZXXnKn
— WBRZ News (@WBRZ) April 24, 2026
“This is the kind of violence we end up with when we engage in those kinds of [soft on crime] policies. And I’m asking the legislature to go back and look at the laws. In fact, people that go into common places and decide to engage in that kind of violence, we should put them away for life!” Landry exclaimed at a press conference. “I’m done with ’em. It doesn’t matter how old they are. Somebody has failed. It’s not the government’s job to raise these people. It’s common sense not to go into a public space with a gun and start shooting around blindly.”
In a post on his own X account, he vowed to hold everyone accountable, including “the criminals, their families, and the judges who don’t uphold their obligation to ensure justice.”
Today, alongside federal, state, and local officials, I briefed the public on the latest updates on the shooting at the Mall of Louisiana.
I know I speak for everyone in Louisiana when I say we have had enough of this senseless violence.
Believe me when I say I will hold all… pic.twitter.com/f5XIWoeX0g
— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) April 24, 2026
According to WBRZ, the teenager will be charged with first-degree murder in the death of Odom, as well as “five counts of attempted first-degree murder for the other people who were shot. They include two of Odom’s classmates.”
Ascension Episcopal School identified the teen killed in the Mall of Louisiana shooting as one of their seniors, Martha Odom. Two other seniors were also reportedly among the six people shot Thursday. pic.twitter.com/03XayJtSoC
— WAFB (@WAFB) April 24, 2026
As for the motivation behind what would become a fatal shooting, authorities say it stemmed from a social media beef between two groups.
Baton Rouge Police Chief T.J. Morse revealed that the teen has an “extensive criminal history.”
“You see these folks working day and night, arresting the same people. Y’all see the juvenile violence that goes on again and again. And yet over the last five years before I became governor, or eight years while I was attorney general, I watched nothing but hug-a-thug policies in this state. A watering down of our criminal justice system,” Landry responded.
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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