I-TEAM: Person of interest remains at large, shooting victim goes home
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Baton Rouge police said they are following good leads two weeks after a shooting at the Mall of Louisiana killed one person and injured five others.
One of the shooting victims, Donnie Guillory, is back home recovering. The person of interest shown at a news conference wearing a hoodie has still not been questioned.
Baton Rouge police did not release specific details as their investigation progresses. They said they are still enlisting the help of their federal partners to find and locate any suspects tied to the Mall of Louisiana shooting.
Guillory was seen recovering after a visit by East Baton Rouge deputies. The shooting killed Martha Odom and injured five others.
Sources said that while one arrest has been made, investigators still cannot find the man in a picture released as a possible person of interest.
“Right now, it’s still an ongoing investigation. And so they’re trying to see what role he may or may not have played in this investigation, in the shooting,” said Saundra Watts.
So far, only Markel Lee has been arrested. The 17-year-old is facing first-degree murder and five attempted murder charges. Lee has an extensive criminal record in the juvenile justice system.
Twenty-four hours after the shooting, Governor Jeff Landry sounded off about soft-on-crime policies.
“I watched nothing but hug a thug policies in this state, a watering down of the criminal justice system, and not holding those accountable, accountable,” Landry said.
Sources close to the investigation said that although the shooting stemmed from two groups who were at odds with one another, right now, they know there was one shooter. Investigators are waiting for evidence at the crime lab and ballistics to determine if anyone else fired a weapon.
“Detectives are actively working, following up on leads. We want to thank the public for the information that has been pouring in — that has helped our detectives to continue to follow up and bring the proper persons to justice,” Watts said.
Baton Rouge police and their law enforcement partners said they train for these situations and will be conducting an after-action review, which is standard procedure in cases like these.
“Officers were on scene immediately. And that speaks volumes because we do have officers that work in the mall — both the city and the sheriff have officers in that area. And once that call for help came in, our officers, as well as other local law enforcement agencies, responded rapidly to that scene and were able to get it under control and render aid to those persons that needed aid, and also to get the other persons in the mall to safety,” Watts said.
Anyone who can help police identify the person of interest should call Crime Stoppers at 344-STOP.
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