BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry on Friday blamed a fatal mass shooting at the Mall of Louisiana on "failures" at home and on judges who follow "hug-a-thug" policies rather than holding people responsible for their actions.

At a news conference, Baton Rouge Police Chief T.J. Morse said 17-year-old Markel Lee surrendered Friday morning, after Thursday's shooting at the mall's food court. Landry said later that "the beginning of this failure was at home."

"The arrest of that young man is their parents' failure first," Landry said. He said that anyone who took part in Thursday's mayhem deserved to serve life terms.

"We got 18,000 acres at Angola. If it's up to me, I'd send them all there for the rest of their lives," he said. 

Landry also blamed the judicial process, specifically 

"People say we cannot arrest our way out of this problem, and they are right. We can sentence our way out of this problem," the governor said.

Lee will be charged with first-degree murder and five counts of attempted first-degree murder after the death of Martha Odom, an Ascension Episcopal School senior. The Lafayette student was visiting the mall on a "Senior Skip Day," a common student-declared holiday near the end of the academic year.

Another victim, 43-year-old Donnie Guillory, remains in critical condition at a hospital.

Baton Rouge Police detained five others Thursday but released them, Morse said. He said they remain persons of interest and could ultimately face charges.

Lee has a criminal record, Morse said, and Landry showed obvious frustration.

"You see these folks working day and night, arresting the same people," Landry said. "Y'all see the juvenile violence that goes on again and again. And yet over the last five years before I became governor, or eight years while I was attorney general, I watched nothing but hug-a-thug policies in this state. A watering down of our criminal justice system."

Five other people, including two of Odom's classmates, were injured, and Lee would be charged with five counts of attempted murder. He also faces weapons-related charges.

Mall employees recounted the moment shots rang out in the crowded mall.

"At first I heard a loud pop, and then another pop. I thought at first somebody was shooting fireworks in the food court," Signi Dreyer, who operates the carousel in the middle of the food court, said. 

Nearly three hours after the shooting happened, Morse announced five people had been taken into custody.

The mall was closed after the shootings and remained closed Friday.