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Suspect Markel Lee in custody following fatal Mall of Louisiana gunfire
Martha Odom was identified as the seventeen year old killed during a school trip
A 17-year-old high school senior has been identified as the victim killed in a mass shooting at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge on Thursday.
Martha Odom, a senior at Ascension Episcopal School in Lafayette, was caught in the crossfire when a violent argument between two groups erupted in the mall's food court.
On Friday, the Baton Rouge Police Department announced that 17-year-old Markel Lee has been charged with first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder, and one count of illegal use of a weapon.
Lee turned himself in to local authorities and is currently being held at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. Under recently enacted state law, 17-year-olds are treated as adults in the Louisiana criminal justice system.
The Ascension Episcopal School community remembered Odom as a "joyful presence" and a dedicated student-athlete.
She served as the captain of the girls' soccer team, wrote for the school newspaper, and had recently shared plans to study creative writing at Sewanee.
Four other students from the school were present at the mall for an unofficial "senior skip day" when the shooting occurred; two of those students sustained injuries but are expected to recover.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, a long-time friend of the Odom family, described the incident as a "devastating loss of innocent life."
While Markel Lee remains in custody, police are still searching for a second suspect shown in surveillance footage.
This tragedy marks the second major case of gun violence in Louisiana this week, following a domestic incident in Shreveport.
