Police say 10 hurt, suspects fled after two groups shot at each other inside Mall of Louisiana

Police Chief TJ Morse said two groups argued inside the food court and started shooting at each other.

"Unfortunately there were some innocent people in the area who might have also caught some rounds," he said.

Ten people were at local hospitals with various injuries, Morse said, and at least two needed surgery. The chief appealed to witnesses to provide any video of the shooting.

“Right now there is no known threat to the public,” he said. “Right here is the safest place in Baton Rouge.”

Kennedy Barnum, 22, said she had gone to the mall to get lunch at the food court when she heard a woman on the phone outside say, “I’ll call you back. There’s an active shooter in the mall.”

Within five minutes, Barnum said, law enforcement had swarmed the mall. She saw people running and crying, including one girl she described as “hysterical.”

“We spoke to a security guard there and she told us that there was an active shooter there, people were shot and injured, and we should leave immediately,” Barnum told the AP.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry thanked law enforcement for the swift response.

It’s at least the second high-profile case of gun violence in Louisiana this week. A father fatally shot eight children, including seven of his own, in an attack on his family Sunday morning that stretched across two houses in a Shreveport neighborhood, police said. Two women, including the gunman’s wife who was the mother of their children, were critically wounded.

AP reporters Jack Brook in New Orleans and Jim Mustian in Natchitoches, Louisiana, contributed to this story.