SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A Louisiana father fatally shot eight children, including seven of his own, and shot and wounded his wife and another woman in the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. in more than two years.
The attack on Sunday morning unfolded in two homes in a Shreveport neighborhood. The gunman, identified as 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, died after a police pursuit that ended with officers firing on him, authorities said.
Police have not provided a motive for the killings. Family members said Elkins and his wife were separating and community leaders called for a reckoning over domestic violence as the shooting reverberated across the city, including in the classrooms where the children attended school.
Here's what to know about the attack.
The attack began before dawn in a neighborhood south of downtown Shreveport.
Police received the first report around 5:55 a.m. from a caller stating they were on top of a house where someone had been shot, Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said. Five minutes later, police were told that Elkins had shot everyone inside the 79th Street house.
Troy Brown, Elkin's brother-in-law, said his wife and his 12-year-old daughter had escaped through the home’s roof.
Officers arrived within minutes but another call at 6:07 a.m. reported a second attack on nearby Harrison Street, where the caller said Elkins had shot her before fleeing, according to Smith. Police then received word the gunman had stolen a car, leading to a pursuit and eventually an exchange of gunfire.
Elkins was pronounced dead about an hour after police received the first call. It was not clear whether he was killed by officers or from a self-inflicted gunshot, Smith said.
Gunman had felony gun conviction
Source: WPLG
