A gunman has shot and killed a customer who was shopping at a mall in Louisiana on Christmas Eve as the US is still reeling from an earlier fatal shooting of a black man by police.The deadly shooting happened Wednesday evening at the Oakwood Center Mall in Gretna, Louisiana near the city of New Orleans, according to police officials.
James Vaughn, 24, had just made a purchase from a shoe store when 25-year-old Gary Franois walked within three or four feet of him and opened fire on him, said Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand.
"Obviously, based on witness accounts, he walked in with purpose of shooting this particular individual," Normand said when asked if the victim was targeted.
"In the aftermath of the shooting, there was bedlam in the mall," the sheriff said.
Police has arrested the shooter near the mall and is still questioning him. Authorities say he is likely to face a charge of second-degree murder.
The latest gun violence on Christmas Eve follows public anger at police for the fatal shooting of several African-Americans in recent months.
On Tuesday, another African-American teenager was shot dead by a police officer in Saint Louis, Missouri.
The victim, 18-year-old Antonio Martin, was unarmed when officers fatally shot him at a gas station in Berkeley, witnesses said.
In a statement, St. Louis County Police said Martin was shot after he pulled a gun and pointed it at officers as they approached him outside the gas station.
By Press TV
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