On Christmas Eve 2014 a deadly, targeted shooting took place inside the Footlocker at Oakwood Mall in Gretna, Louisiana. Twenty-four-year-old James Vaughn had just completed a purchase when a gunman who had been waiting outside entered the store, shot him multiple times and then fired again after Vaughn fell, leaving him fatally wounded. Vaughn lived in nearby Marrero; he was a father of two with a third child on the way. News of the killing brought family and friends to the mall in shock and grief.

A suspect, Gary Francois, was arrested in connection with the attack. At trial his defense argued insanity, but a Jefferson Parish jury rejected that plea and found him guilty of second-degree murder. Francois, 28 at sentencing, received a mandatory life term with no probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.