Shreveport, Louisiana– A stunned Louisiana community struggled to control Monday with Massacre of eight children It was carried out by a father who was separating from his wife and used an assault weapon despite a felony firearms conviction in 2019.
Violence broke out early Sunday in two homes in (Shreveport, Louisiana).It was one of the country’s deadliest mass shootings in recent years.
Police said the shooter, identified as Shamar Elkins, shot seven of his children and another child. His wife was also shot.
His sister-in-law, who called police minutes after the shooting began, escaped with a child by jumping from the roof, police and family members said Monday.
“She said she was running for her life,” said Lionel Pugh, the women’s uncle. “The only ones he didn’t kill were the ones who escaped.”
Elkins died after fleeing and a police chase that ended with officers shooting him. Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said it was not clear whether he was killed by officers or from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Officials said the children who died, three boys and five girls, ranged in age from 3 to 11 years old.
“I don’t know what to say, I’m just heartbroken,” Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said. “I can’t imagine how such an event could happen.”
Elkins and his wife, identified by family members as Shanika Elkins, were separated and were scheduled to appear in court Monday, said Crystal Brown, a cousin of a woman who was shot in the attack. She said the couple had been arguing about a breakup before the shooting.
“He killed his children,” Brown said.
Family members described Shanika Elkins as a doting mother, who celebrated her children’s success in school and carefully dressed them before family events.
“She raised these kids right,” Pugh said. “They were the center of her world.”
While the shooter does not appear to have an extensive criminal history, court records show Elkins was placed on probation in 2019 after pleading guilty to unlawful use of a weapon. In that case, Elkins fired five shots at a car and told police someone inside pulled a gun on him, according to the police report.
Based on Louisiana law, a person convicted of certain violent crimes — including the illegal use of weapons — is prohibited from possessing a gun for at least 10 years after completing their sentence and probation.
Police spokesman Chris Bordelon said investigators were not aware of other domestic violence cases involving Elkins.
Elkins served in the Louisiana National Guard from 2013 to 2020 as a signals support system specialist and fire support specialist, Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Noel Collins said. Elkins held the rank of private and had no deployments, Collins said.
Authorities said shooting broke out before dawn in two homes.
Police said Elkins shot a woman in the South Central neighborhood and a few blocks away at a home where the children were found. Elkins’ nephew was among the children killed, according to the Caddo Parish coroner’s office.
Lisa Deming, who lives two houses away from where most of the victims were killed, said her security camera captured video of the suspect running away with the sound of two shots.
“That’s pretty much all I saw was people coming out of the house and cars leaving,” she said.
Mourners lit candles for the victims Sunday night in a nearby parking lot.
“It makes you take your kids and hug them and hug them and tell them how much you love them because you don’t know it,” said Kimberlin Jackson, who attended the vigil and is an advocate for the Head Start program where one of the victims was a student. She said the last time she saw him was Friday.
Francine Monroe Brown, Shanika Elkins’ cousin, said she would often see the children playing in the yard on Sunday mornings when she drove by the house on her way to church.
“Happy kids, happy kids. Happy kids, happy kids,” Brown said as she stood near a growing memorial of stuffed animals, flowers and pink and blue balloons. Shanika is a great mother, she has provided a wonderful home for the children.”
Betty Pugh, another cousin of Shanika Elkins, said she was always there for her children. “That’s the way we were taught: to love our children, to take care of them. And that’s what I did,” Pugh said.
The mayor of Shreveport, a city with a population of about 180,000 in northwest Louisiana, described the situation as tragic. “It’s probably the worst tragic situation we’ve ever seen,” Tom Arsenault said.
The Shreveport shooting was the deadliest in the United States since January 2024, when eight people were killed. In a suburb of ChicagoAccording to database It is run by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
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Associated Press reporters Jack Brock in New Orleans contributed. John Sewer in Toledo, Ohio; Jake Offenhartz in New York; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Steve Karnovsky in Minneapolis; Terry Tang in Phoenix, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles.