A teenager who was killed during a mass shooting at a Louisiana mall was enjoying “senior skip day” and had just returned home from a spring break trip to New York City days before the tragedy — as a suspect was arrested.
Martha Odom, 17, was celebrating the final weeks of high school before graduation with two of her friends when she was tragically caught in the crossfire of two feuding groups inside the food court at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge on Thursday, officials revealed.
“We grieve the loss of one of our seniors, Martha Odom, following yesterday’s off-campus tragedy,” Ascension Episcopal School in Lafayette said Friday. “We continue to lift in prayer the two students who are healing, as well as the two additional students who were present.
Odom died from a gunshot wound to the chest, the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office announced.
Officials ruled her death a homicide. Five others were wounded, including Odom’s two classmates.
Odom had raved about her spring break trip to the Big Apple exactly one week before she was killed, according to NOLA.
The senior, who was an editor for the student newspaper The Authored Ascencion, shared a detailed recap of her trip to Manhattan.
“This spring break was one to remember for my family as we took a much-anticipated trip to New York City! This visit was the senior trip I picked for my family,” Odom wrote in the April 16 article. “The balance of city bustle and blooming spring flowers is unmatched, and I am so blessed to have been able to visit during this time of year!”
Odom’s jam-packed sightseeing week excursion included stops at Raising Cane’s in Times Square with her sister, dinner at Carmine’s restaurant, the Easter Bonnet Festival, watching a Rangers game at Madison Square Garden and multiple Broadway shows, along with stops at famed tourist attractions.
Odom, who was expected to attend the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., in the fall, was a captain of her school’s girls’ soccer team, an avid lover of the arts and a dancer teaching 5 and 6-year-olds at her local ballet center, according to her author profile.
“Our hearts are shattered. We lost one of our own. Our beautiful dancer, Martha Odom,” The Ballet Studio wrote on Facebook. “A bright light — fearless, joyful, full of life. The kind of soul that fills a room without even trying.
“Our studio feels different today. Quieter. Heavier. As if a piece of us is missing… because it is,” the studio said.
Sen. John Kennedy (R. La.) slammed the violence that led to Odom’s death.
“Becky and I are heartbroken over the devastating loss of Martha Odom,” Kennedy wrote on Facebook.
“Martha was a 17-year-old high school student beloved by all who knew her. Her life should never have been cut short by the senseless violence we saw at the Mall of Louisiana. Our prayers are with her family, friends, and community—and all those injured in this tragedy.”
Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Monique Boulet said her “heart dropped” after learning of Odom’s death.
“Martha Odom was just a really great, hardworking young woman. Ready for some great things in life, and so it’s tragic, and it’s sad,” Boulet said, according to WAFB. “Youngsters with guns is never a good idea unless it’s in a blind hunting ducks. Teenagers… You know, it’s tough.”
On Friday, Markel Lee, 17, turned himself over to police for his involvement in the shooting, the Baton Rouge Police Department announced.
The alleged gunman was charged with first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and one count of illegal use of a weapon.
He is being held in East Baton Rouge Jail without bond, according to inmate records viewed by The Post.
Police also shared a photo of another person “connected to the shooting.”
The unidentified individual captured on security cameras inside the mall appears to be a black male wearing a blue hoodie.
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