BATON ROUGE — A.M. Food Mart along Highland Road was declared a "public nuisance" following a Tuesday court hearing and is set to close for a period of five years. 

The property owner, Ibrahim Khoder, was ordered to shut down the establishment for five years after the Baton Rouge Police responded to hundreds of incidents at the convenience store, including 41 shootings and four homicides over the past five years.

"We believe that's what's generating the crime there, the actual operation of the building, not just the building being in existence," District Attorney Hillar Moore said.

After the judge signs the order, the establishment will have 30 days to vacate the premises. Moore said the A.M. Food Mart is a location he has kept an eye on due to its crime levels. Moore said this is the first time he has gone through with a permanent injunction and that it is a tool that may be used on other businesses that do not take steps to mitigate crime.

Khoder disagreed with the D.A.'s assessment.

"The neighborhood is like any other neighborhood in the City of Baton Rouge. People shooting everywhere, okay? It's not a tenant problem, it's not a landlord problem, it's a sociological problem," he said.

The public nuisance order comes after Moore sent a letter to Khoder warning him of the declaration in September.

The letter claimed that a group called "Top Snatcher Klan" used the back of the store to conduct illicit activities, including drug transactions and dice games.

That month, a 19th Judicial District judge ordered the A.M. Food Mart to take steps to reduce crime.

"We did, I came to [the business operator]. I said, I don't want to see loitering. I don't want to see people standing in the parking lot. He suggested to me, the City... they want to put a camera in the parking lot if it's okay with me, I said, 'Yea,'" Khoder said.

This is not the first time Moore considered action against the owner. In 2020 and 2021, the Sandpiper Apartments in Tigerland were featured in several 2 On Your Side reports. Over the span of five years, police responded here nearly 200 times, including a double murder and an officer-involved shooting.

While the owner could sell the site to a buyer who could potentially open it sooner, that sale would have to be approved by multiple parties including the District Attorney, the Chief of Police, the Sheriff, the Attorney General, Metro Councilmember Carolyn Coleman and the Mayor's Office.

"That's going to be a tough group of people to get to sign off, particularly for a convenience store," Moore said.

Moore also said the resolution would also order Khoder to follow certain safety protocol, installing lights and cameras which are to be connected to BRPD's Real Time Crime Center. There is also to be no access to the building except for maintenance, inspection and potential real estate transactions.