SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A gunman in Louisiana killed eight children, including seven of his own, and shot two other people Sunday in an early morning attack of domestic violence carried out across two houses, authorities said, shaking a Shreveport neighborhood in one of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings in more than two years.
The victims ranged in age from 1 to about 12 years old and one of the adults wounded was the mother of the suspect's children, said Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Chris Bordelon. Investigators did not say what may have set off the violence.
The suspect, whom Bordelon identified as Shamar Elkins, died after a police pursuit. Bordelon said there was still much to investigate but detectives were confident the shooting was “entirely a domestic incident.”
Bordelon said Elkins had been arrested in 2019 in a firearms case. He said police were not aware of any other domestic violence issues.
“This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” Bordelon said.
Officers fired at the suspect during a chase after he carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint, Bordelon said.
Police said the attacks began before sunrise in a neighborhood south of downtown Shreveport when the suspect shot a woman at one home and then drove to the other location “where this heinous act was carried out.”
Seven children were killed inside the second house, and one was found dead on the roof after apparently trying to escape, Bordelon said.
State Rep. Tammy Phelps said some children tried to get away through the back door. “I can't even imagine what the police officers, first responders actually dealt with when they got here today,” she said at a news conference.
Authorities did not release the name of the gunman but did say he was an adult male.
Source: WPLG
