Louisiana lawmakers are advancing legislation to expand first-degree murder charges and death penalty eligibility, citing a recent shooting at the Mall of Louisiana as justification for the proposed changes.

The legislative proposal comes in response to the deadly incident at the Baton Rouge-area shopping center, though specific details about the shooting and its casualties were not immediately available.

Under the proposed changes, the state would broaden the circumstances under which prosecutors could pursue first-degree murder charges, which carry the possibility of capital punishment in Louisiana.

The legislation represents the latest effort by state lawmakers to strengthen criminal penalties following high-profile violent crimes. Louisiana currently maintains the death penalty, though executions have been on hold since 2010 due to difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs.

The bill's sponsors have not yet detailed the specific circumstances that would be added to the state's first-degree murder statute or provided a timeline for when the legislation might advance through the state legislature.