SHREVEPORT, La. — A man in Louisiana killed eight children Sunday in a shooting that authorities described as a domestic violence incident and was later killed by police after he fled in a carjacked vehicle, officials said.
The suspect’s wife and a woman believed to be his girlfriend were also shot and seriously injured in the violence, which occurred at two homes in the early morning, police said.
The children killed were 18 months to 12 years old, police said.
“I just don’t know what to say. My heart is just taken aback,” Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith told reporters. “I just cannot begin to imagine how such an event can occur.”
Police identified Shamar Elkins as the shooter and sole suspect. Seven of the eight children who were killed were his, police spokesperson Christopher Bordelon said.
Shreveport police officers responded to the 300 block of West 79th Street just after 6 a.m. following reports of a domestic disturbance, police said. Bordelon described the crime scene as “extensive.”
The gunman first shot a woman on nearby Harrison Street before he headed to a home on West 79th Street, where he killed all the children, police said.
The gunman fled and carjacked a person at gunpoint near the intersection of Linwood Avenue and West 79th Street, police said.
Officers shot and killed the suspect in neighboring Bossier Parish after a pursuit, police said. Police believe there are no other suspects, Bordelon said.
“Officers were forced to discharge their department-issued firearms, neutralizing the suspect,” police said in a statement.
Louisiana State Police are investigating the shooting of the suspect. Shreveport police said nothing suggests any wrongdoing by officers.
The gunman shot 10 victims in all. A teenager had non-life-threatening injuries from falling off a roof, police said.
One of the wounded women is Elkins’ wife, who was shot in the face but was alive Sunday, and the other woman is believed to be his girlfriend, Bordelon said.
Seven of the children who were killed were found in the home and the eighth was found dead on a back roof, Bordelon said.
He said investigators are still investigating why Elkins would have carried out the shootings.
“We know it’s domestic in nature, we know his wife is involved, and she is the mother of at least seven of the children, with the eighth being a family friend,” Bordelon said.
A small-caliber handgun was used in some of the violence, and Elkins had a “rifle-style pistol” when police confronted and killed him, Bordelon said.
It appears many of the children were shot in their sleep, Bordelon said. Most of them were shot in the head, he said.
“It is a disgusting and evil scene,” Bordelon said.
Mack London, 71, who lives on the same block, said he didn’t hear the gunfire and that he only learned of the killings from a neighbor as he stepped outside around 7 a.m. to close his gate. By then, he said, the street was flooded with police and an ambulance, with the block shut down and onlookers gathering.
London, who has lived there since 1991, said such violence is unheard of in the neighborhood. “Nothing like this has ever happened on this street,” he said. “It was bad. … I hate that it happened to those kids.”
Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said the community is in mourning.
“This is a tragic situation, maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had in Shreveport,” he said at a news conference.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he is “heartbroken over this horrific situation” and grateful for local law enforcement and first responders. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has represented Shreveport in Congress for almost 10 years, called the incident a “heartbreaking tragedy,” adding that his team is in touch with local police.
Elkins served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from August 2013 to August 2020 as a signal support system specialist and a fire support specialist, but he never deployed and left as a private, the Army said.
Elkins had a 2019 arrest and conviction of illegal use of a firearm, which likely prohibited him from legally owning firearms, Bordelon said.
Members of Shreveport’s City Council gathered near the scene Sunday afternoon to pray and ask the community to lift up the family affected.
The slain children “had their whole life ahead of them,” Council Chair Tabatha Taylor said through tears.
“This is the result when someone snaps,” Taylor said. “So I’m going to ask the community, along with prayer, with every mental health consultant that is out there — this family and this community needs you.”
Freddie and Marie Montgomery live across the street from where the children were killed, but they didn’t know the family well. They said the family had moved in about six months ago.
Around 6:30 a.m. Sunday, there was a commotion and Shreveport police were entering the home, they said.
“When they brought all those kids out of that house, that’s just the worst thing I ever seen,” Marie Montgomery said.
Saturday, Freddie Montgomery was visiting with another neighbor and returning home when he saw a man in the front yard and the children playing outside. He said he waved at the man and the man waved back like normal.
“When we found out what had actually happened over there, it was just, just a shock,” he said. “There is no sense in this.”
