Accused shooter of two innocent bystanders near Mall of Louisiana arrested
A 17-year-old accused in the shooting and injuring of two innocent bystanders Saturday near the Mall of Louisiana was arrested 24 hours later and booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
Sheriff’s deputies arrested Meco Damon Green late Sunday after witnesses identified the accused shooter in a photo lineup, an affidavit of probable cause says.
Green, 12400 Jefferson Highway, was booked into Parish Prison on four counts of attempted first-degree murder, prison records show. His bail was set at $200,000.
According to the affidavit, Green got into an argument with someone at 9:30 p.m. while standing between two businesses in the courtyard area near Mall of Louisiana Boulevard.
Green pulled out a black handgun, and the person with whom he was arguing started running, the affidavit says. Green fired the gun several times in the direction of the boy, but the boy was not struck.
Instead, the bullets hit two boys who were not involved in the argument, the affidavit says. A third bystander was standing with the boys but was not shot.
The shooting victims were taken to a hospital where they underwent surgery for their gunshot wounds, the affidavit says. The names, ages and medical statuses of the victims were not released.
Bobby Welch, however, said the two victims and the third bystander are 15-year-old ninth-graders at The Dunham School, where he is headmaster.
Welch said students, teachers and staff at the school are “deeply concerned” about what happened to the teens and have “overwhelmed” the waiting room at the hospital where the boys are being treated.
“We see it as miraculous that their injuries weren’t life-threatening,” he said. “At the same time, we are sad that the community has people who are misguided and would do something like this.”
Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks said deputies are still investigating the shooting and additional arrests might be made.
In the meantime, the security policies and procedures at the Mall of Louisiana are being reviewed, said Todd Denton, a mall spokesman.
Denton said the mall has a customized security program that includes cameras and foot patrols inside and outside the facility.
Security is heightened on the weekends when crowds are heavier, he said. During such times, security personnel try to get people waiting on rides to congregate in one place.
Denton said there is not a curfew at the mall for underage patrons, but any time an event like the shooting on Saturday occurs, the mall’s policies and procedures are reviewed.
“If we feel changes need to be made, we will make changes,” he said.
Curfew laws in East Baton Rouge Parish currently prohibit juveniles from being out from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. most days of the week except for Fridays and Saturdays, when they can’t be out from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.
As the law is written, 17-year-olds are considered adults and are not subject to the parish’s curfew laws.
Councilman Chandler Loupe tried unsuccessfully in May to make the law more restrictive.
His proposed changes would include 17-year-olds and tighten curfews for youths 15 and younger, who would be required to be home by midnight on Friday and Saturday nights.
Loupe said at the time that his district has had issues with teens loitering outside Perkins Rowe and the Mall of Louisiana requiring assistance from the Sheriff’s Office.
“It’s becoming unruly,” he said in May.
Loupe was not available Monday.