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The fatal victim of a Louisiana mall shooting which left at least five more injured has been identified as an innocent 17-year-old private schoolgirl. Martha Odom, a senior at Ascension Episcopal School in Youngsville, was killed on Thursday afternoon at Baton Rouge's Mall of Louisiana after being struck in crossfire when two groups began shooting at each other, authorities said.

The Baton Rouge Police Department confirmed at least 10 people are hurt, including two in critical condition, following a shooting at the Mall of Louisiana. According to Chief TJ Morse, there is no threat to the public at this time. The shooting happened around 1:22 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, near the food court area. Morse said it is not a random act of violence, but rather two groups of people who got into an argument inside the food court and started shooting at each other. “Unfortunately, there were some innocent people that were in the area that might have...

More than three dozen missing children were rescued from sex traffickers in North Florida after a massive sting. The rescue effort, named Operation Northern Lights, found 43 missing children across 14 counties with more children found in other states, the US Marshals Service announced Thursday. Federal authorities said the youngest victims were one-year-olds and that one of the young victims had been abducted from Florida and located in Louisiana. Nine people were arrested after the staggering operation, which law enforcement said took two weeks to conduct. Additional charges could include human trafficking, child endangerment and custodial interference. The sting turned...

Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok Kelly Carmena, a Criminal Law Professor at @SouthernULaw, reportedly made posts on Facebook WISHING for the death of Charlie Kirk moments after he was shot. This person teaches LAW at a PUBLIC UNIVERSITY. We reached out to @SouthernULaw for comment, but they did not respond.

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome’s bid for re-election came to a stunning end Saturday as she was soundly defeated in a runoff election. It marked the first time Broome had ever lost an election in her lengthy political career. She was defeated by political newcomer Coach Sid Edwards (R), a decorated local high school football coach. With all precincts reporting, Edwards received 54 percent of the final vote. Voter turnout was 35.7 percent. Broome addressed supporters at the Marriott Hotel on Constitution Avenue in Baton Rouge Saturday evening. “We stood tall and we...

After being asked to leave Stab's Tuesday for a confusing dress code violation at Stab's Prime Steak and Seafood and posting about it on Facebook, Y'Mine McClanahan's post has taken a new turn. Late Wednesday evening, she posted a statement on her personal Facebook page from the NAACP Baton Rouge Branch addressing her experience at Stab's Prime Steak and Seafood where she was asked to leave because of her attire which, many argue, was less "revealing" than the restaurant's wait staff's attire. McClanahan is the vice president of the Baton Rouge Branch of NAACP.

Louisiana Supreme Court voted to allow residents to secede from crime-ridden, Democrat-run Baton Rouge and create their own city. They plan to call the new city St. George. It will have 100,000 people, one of the largest populations of any city in the state. These people want a safe city. The Baton Rouge residents have fought for a decade to split from the city to form their own suburb following a state Supreme Court ruling.

A sniper from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office SWAT team ended a violent standoff when he shot and killed a gunman suspected of shooting six people this week, including three Kenner Police officers earlier Sunday (April 28). The deceased suspect was identified as 31-year-old Matthew Lathers, who was wanted for an armed robbery committed last Tuesday in Kenner in which a 56-year-old victim was shot, and for shooting and wounding two men who made the mistake Sunday of stopping in front of the residence in which Lathers was hiding, in the 700 block of Farm Avenue, authorities said. The home...

Wealthy white Baton Rouge residents have won a decade-long court battle to split from poorer neighborhoods and form their own city with plans for better schools and less crime. The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the new City of St George could move forward with incorporation, splitting off from the rest of Baton Rouge. St George will have 86,000 residents across a 60-square-mile area in the southeast of East Baton Rouge Parish and will have its own Mayor and city council.

Wealthy white Baton Rouge residents have won a decade-long court battle to split from poorer neighborhoods and form their own city with plans for better schools and less crime. The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the new City of St George could move forward with incorporation, splitting off from the rest of Baton Rouge. St George will have 86,000 residents across a 60-square-mile area in the southeast of East Baton Rouge Parish and will have its own Mayor and city council.

On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) rejected an appeal from a leader of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement who was found liable for one of his follower’s violently attacking a police officer. As Fox News reports, far-left activist Deray Mckesson was sued in 2016 by a Baton Rouge police officer, who remained a nameless “John Doe” for the case, after the officer was injured by a protester who threw a “rock-like” object at him and hit him. The attack led to the officer losing several teeth and suffering a brain injury. The officer sued Mckesson,...

BATON ROUGE - Two brothers accused in a shooting that left three people dead, including a toddler, were captured several days after their mother drove them to another state so they could avoid law enforcement. On Thursday, the Baton Rouge Police Department announced the arrests of David Williams, 19, and his 15-year-old brother, LeDarrius Coleman. Arrest records suggest the brothers fired gunshots that left at least two of the three victims dead. Earlier this week, police arrested another 15-year-old suspect and two adults in the fatal shooting. The two adults arrested are Latoya Coleman and Christopher Stovall. Coleman, the mother...

BATON ROUGE, La (BRPROUD) — Baton Rouge Police Department responded to the 8300 block of Florida Boulevard regarding a woman laying in the roadway with a small baby on top of her. When officers arrived to the scene, the fire department and EMS said that Rachel Myles was walking while pushing a baby stroller with a small baby through traffic on Florida Boulevard. Both fire and EMS followed Myles, attempting to get her out of the roadway but she refused. She proceeded to run across the roadway pushing the baby stroller with the baby not properly secured. The baby almost...

Imagine walking through the woods and seeing this. Howard Martin posted this photo on Facebook and now many are doing their best to identify this very strange animal. The photo was reportedly taken near St. Francisville, north of Baton Rogue, in Louisiana and it shows a four-legged animal, with no fur, hopping over a branch. Some on social media have suggested that this animal may be a coyote with mange, while others say that it may be another breed of animal that is sick. Now, because this is on the internet, like you, we too will approach this photo with...

The Blue Zoo was still searching Wednesday for Cara, a 12-foot albino Burmese python. The snake went missing on Monday evening. They report that Blue Zoo employees, Baton Rouge zoo staff and local snake experts spent Tuesday night searching for the reptile in shifts -- some even donning night vision goggles. The python has still not been located.

The Louisiana Legislature voted overwhelmingly Thursday to move approximately $300 million annually from a fund that pays for higher education and health care to a fund that pays for large transportation projects. Supporters have said the spending will not only improve the state’s infrastructure system, but that it will also create construction jobs. Critics are concerned the proposal would exacerbate an already expected budget deficit in July 2025 affecting state universities, hospitals and other health care programs. Gov. John Bel Edwards needs to sign the legislation for it to become law. Edwards hasn’t decided if he approves of the bill...

A man who was arrested after refusing a temperature screening at Disney Springs in Florida told authorities that he couldn't be told to leave because he had spent $15,000 on his vacation. The man, Kelly Sills, a tourist from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, bypassed the Orlando attraction's medical screening in February and refused to get his temperature checked when asked by Disney employees, according to a report from the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Body camera video released recently showed Sills refusing to leave when asked by law enforcement. "I spent $15,000 to come here," Sills said after a deputy told him...

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana’s secretary of state decided Wednesday to shelve his search for new voting machines after a barrage of complaints about the bid process from election technology companies, the head of a state Senate oversight committee and his fellow Republicans. Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin sent a letter to Paula Tregre, Louisiana’s chief procurement officer, announcing his decision, asking her to remove the bid solicitation from a state website and requesting that she dismiss protests filed by two companies that wanted to seek the work. “I am withdrawing the (request for proposals) to spend the next...

BATON ROUGE, La – Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin Thursday morning announced their offices have arrested an Amite City Councilman on eight counts of election fraud. Emanuel Zanders, III is accused of submitting voter registration applications that are known by the person to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent. At a news conference in Baton Rouge, both Attorney General Landry and Secretary Ardoin expressed the importance of election integrity through free and fair elections. They stressed that every legal voter gets one legal vote and no more: one man, one vote. “Anything other than...

BATON ROUGE - Louisiana State University Police arrested a 22-year-old woman for allegedly raping a man who suffers from traumatic brain injury. According to an official police document, Alyssa Jade Hooks drove the victim to an area near New Orleans and then to LSU's campus in Baton Rouge on March 25, 2019 and assaulted him twice during the drive. In the document, police say, 'It should be noted the victim... has a medically documented Traumatic Brain Injury that makes it difficult for him to act and/or make decisions in stressful situations. Additionally, this injury causes the victim to suffer from...