SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A Louisiana man fatally shot eight children, including seven of his own, in an attack on his family that stretched across two houses in a Shreveport, Louisiana, neighborhood left shaken by one of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings in recent years, police said.
The gunman's wife, who was the mother of their children, and another woman were also shot and critically wounded in the attack Sunday, according to the Shreveport Police Department. The gunman, identified as Shamar Elkins, died after fleeing the scene and a police pursuit that ended with officers firing on him.
Officials said the children — three boys and five girls — ranged in age from 3 to 11 years old. Another child jumped off the roof of the house and was expected to survive.
“This is a tragic situation — maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had,” Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said.
Elkins and his wife were in the process of separating and had been due in court Monday, said Crystal Brown, a cousin of one of the women who were shot. She said the couple had been arguing about the separation before the shooting.
“He murdered his children,” Brown said.
The violence started before sunrise Sunday
Authorities said the attack began before dawn, when Elkins shot a woman at one home in the neighborhood south of downtown and then fatally shot the children at another house a few blocks away. Elkins' nephew was among the slain children, according to the Caddo Parish coroner’s office.
Liza Demming, who lives two houses down from where most of the victims were shot, said her security camera captured video of the suspect running away along with the sound of two shots.
“That’s pretty much all I saw, was him running out of the house and the cars leaving,” she said.
Source: WPLG
