BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – For the first time since surviving the deadly shooting at the Mall of Louisiana, Donnie Guillory made an emotional return to the mall on Wednesday, May 20.
Guillory was one of six people shot during the April shooting at the mall. Martha Odom, a high school senior from Lafayette, died from her injuries.
Guillory, a Special Olympics athlete, walked back through the mall with a special escort from Baton Rouge Police and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office.
“Everybody is here today to see me,” Guillory said.
Guillory spent several days in the hospital before returning home. His family said one of the things he talked about most during recovery was getting back to the mall, where he spent time almost every day before the shooting.
Still, returning was emotional.
“I’m a little bit nervous. Nervous a little bit,” Guillory said.
Guillory’s father, Charles, said the support from law enforcement has meant a great deal to their family since the shooting.
He praised officers not only for helping save his son’s life, but for remaining involved throughout his recovery.
“You hear him say he’s a bit nervous,” Charles Guillory said. “He spends so much time in there with so many friends, I’m glad he’s able to go in there without being anxious about it.”
While the visit marked an important step forward for Donnie, his father said concerns about public safety remain.
“It’s something we need to address, because it’s not going to do any good to be happy today and have a problem two weeks from now,” he said.
Charles Guillory said he hopes businesses and community leaders continue looking for ways to improve safety measures moving forward.
“They need to look at what the mall is going to do and what other businesses are going to do to protect their patrons,” he said.
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