Louisiana vows crime crackdown after mall shooting

(The Center Square) − Baton Rouge and state leaders on Friday promised an aggressive law enforcement response after a shooting at the Mall of Louisiana left a 17-year-old girl dead and several others wounded.

Speaking at a press conference alongside local and state officials, First-term Republican Gov. Jeff Landry said the shooting appeared tied to the kind of neighborhood and gang-related disputes that have increasingly spilled into public places, endangering innocent people.

“I want to be absolutely clear, this conduct is not going to be tolerated in this state,” Landry said.

He said the state would work with local, state and federal partners to prepare a “targeted warrant sweep” focused on people tied to the shooting and others with outstanding warrants connected to that activity.

Landry also used the moment to criticize what he described as weak sentencing and judicial leniency. He said public safety requires not only arrests, but harsher punishment for repeat violent offenders. He said Louisiana would not allow ne...