On Saturday, two groups of young people turned the Hibbett Sports Shoe Store in Monroe, La. into the O.K. Corral and had a shootout over a pair of sneakers.

An earlier altercation between the two warring factions reportedly occurred a few miles away at Pecanland Mall. Whether by coincidence or by design, both groups ended up at Hibbett’s.

Video of Saturday’s melee, or at least the parts preceding the shooting, can be seen here.

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No one died as a result of the shooting, but word quickly spread on social media. People who were already reluctant to shop at Pecanland Mall — or, for that matter, anywhere else in Monroe — due to the city’s burgeoning crime problem are even less inclined to do so now.

On Facebook, Monroe Mayor Friday Ellis wrote the following:

“Today’s events highlight not only the harm inflicted on our community but also the alarming lack of emotional intelligence displayed by our youth. All of this—two people injured, lives forever changed, and fear spread through our community—over a pair of shoes. While, thankfully, there were no life-threatening injuries, the impact of these actions goes far beyond physical wounds.

What’s even more telling is how people respond. The comments, shares, and jokes being made about these incidents reveal a disturbing level of desensitization. Instead of using this as a moment for reflection and change, many choose to make light of it—and it’s on full display for everyone to see.

Both incidents were carried out by the same group of individuals. The suspects have been identified, and arrest warrants are imminent.

Let us not only pray for those injured but also recognize the deeper issues at play in our community. The inability to resolve conflicts without violence, the lack of emotional intelligence, and the normalization of senseless disputes are tearing us apart.”

Stuff like this, unless it’s contained, will kill Monroe’s economy. No one wants to go shopping at stores anymore because of these thugs.

The oil wells in North Louisiana dried up in the 1980s. AT&T and General Motors closed their factories in Shreveport. Those things put a major dent in Shreveport’s economy.

In Monroe, State Farm closed their corporate offices in the early 2000s, and that set in motion a series of events that derailed Monroe’s economy.

So, these two cities don’t just suffer from bad economies, they also suffer from high crime rates. A bad economy and a high crime rate are not necessarily correlated. People with good morals and good impulse control can practice good morals and good impulse control just as well in a bad economy as they can in a good economy.

Monroe’s crime and economic problems have all but killed Pecanland Mall, which, I have argued, was once the nicest shopping center in all of Louisiana.

The roads in North Louisiana are pitiful compared to almost every other state in the union.

Trial lawyer billboards are everywhere, which tells the rest of America that Louisiana is not a business-friendly state.

Louisiana spends an excessive sum of money on higher education. A lot of kids take advantage of it and, once they graduate, take jobs in another state (as I did). There aren’t enough jobs there to accommodate college grads. Because, again, Louisiana is not a business-friendly state.

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With all of its abundant resources, Louisiana should possess more wealth than any other state in the nation, but it’s quite the opposite. That’s due to decades/centuries of horrible leadership.

As for this sorry behavior on Saturday, that wasn’t created in a vacuum. That’s the result of decades of parental neglect, no discipline, and idiot adults and idiot authorities who continue to enable it.

Who can forget nine years ago when then-Ouachita Parish District Attorney Jerry Jones refused to prosecute two young men on felony charges because….wait for it…they played football?

Parents in North Louisiana can’t send their children to public schools without expecting them to witness violence on a regular basis by children who come from dysfunctional homes.

I’m speaking on behalf of countless people in North Louisiana who are fed up.

Do better.

Special thanks to Warhammer’s Wife for proofreading this story before publication to make certain there were no misspellings, grammatical errors or other embarrassing mistakes and/or typos. Follow Warhammer on Twitter @Real_Warhammer