Martha Odom, killed in Mall of Louisiana shooting, loved ballet, Dr Pepper, writing

She was a writer, a dancer, a Dr Pepper enthusiast.

Martha Odom, 17, died after being caught in the crossfire of a shooting Thursday at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. Odom, a senior at Ascension Episcopal School in Lafayette, visited the mall with friends for their “senior skip day” as graduation approached in just three weeks.

Odom planned to attend Sewanee, also known as the University of the South, where she was going to study English and creative writing. Instead, she and two other classmates from Ascension Episcopal were hit in the crossfire in a food court shooting that police say happened when two groups started arguing and drew guns.

She died from a gunshot wound to the chest, the coroner’s office reported Friday.

After Odom’s name became public Friday morning, and outpouring of social media tributes for her followed. She leaves behind her parents and a younger sister.

Odom was an overachiever: captain of the girls’ soccer team at her school, editor of the student newspaper, a teacher at her dance studio. She won second place in the Lafayette Public Library’s 2026 Writes of Spring contest.

She planned to spend her summer before college at Ballet Austin’s summer intensive, a chance to “train in the timeless art of dance,” she wrote in the student newspaper.

“Her classmates, Ascension faculty, and our Blue Gator families remember Martha as a joyful presence whose kindness and infectious enthusiasm brought light to all who knew her,” the school shared on social media.

Her family visited New York City over spring break, and she wrote about how much she enjoyed eating at Raising Cane’s in Times Square, going to a New York Rangers’ hockey game and seeing several Broadway musicals, including “The Outsiders” and “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.”

In other writings for the student newspaper, she shared her observations about Taylor Swift (‘captivating,’ ‘empowering’), being a debutante late last year (‘had the time of my life’) and how much her soccer team had improved (‘the soccer team is a family’).

She also took sharp interest in journalism and shared her fears about the press losing independence. In one student newspaper piece, she wrote about the inaccurate portrayals of journalists as lead characters in rom-coms including “13 Going on 30” and “27 Dresses.”

“What did rom-coms get wrong about journalists? Their drive,” she wrote. “It takes grit to unearth the information in an article. It takes bravery to be that bridge between the people and their government. A lack of that grit leads to an epidemic of self-censorship, where writers hesitate to publish critical works for fear of penalties.”

Odom summed up her beliefs in a Psalm from the Bible she shared in her Instagram biography.

“Behold,” reads Psalm 133:1 that she cited. “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.”