Gunman Kills Eight Children in Shreveport, Louisiana; Police Fatally Shoot Suspect in Chase

A gunman killed eight children in a mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana, early Sunday, and police said the suspected shooter was also dead after being fatally shot during a vehicle chase.

Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Christopher Bordelon described the incident as “domestic in nature,” and said authorities believed at least some of those shot were the “descendants” of the shooter.

ABC News

The shootings took place at multiple residences in Shreveport, including two homes on the same block and a third in another part of the neighborhood, with officers responding just after 6 a.m. ET at one of the residences where victims were shot.

NBC News reported officers responded to the 300 block of West 79th Street just after 6 a.m. following reports of a domestic disturbance, and described the crime scene as “extensive,” spanning two homes and a third on Harrison Street nearby.

Bordelon said the incident involved “three different scenes,” with the “shooting itself occurred just down the road over here, the 300 block of West 79th,” and “another shooting related to this on Harrison Street,” plus an adjacent residence on West 79 where one victim ran after the shooting.

Police said the suspect fled, carjacked a vehicle nearby, and was chased by police into Bossier Parish, where officers discharged their firearms and killed him.

Louisiana State Police said their detectives were asked to investigate because the incident involved an officer, and officials said no officers were harmed in the shooting that involved an officer after a police pursuit into Bossier City on Sunday morning.

Police said the incident unfolded across multiple locations in Shreveport and ended in Bossier Parish, with the suspect killed by police after a chase.

Al Jazeera reported that Shreveport Police Corporal Chris Bordelon told a press conference that the scene was “a rather extensive crime scene spanning between two residences,” and that a third residence was also part of the scene being combed by investigators.

Al Jazeera

CBS News said officers responded just after 6 a.m. ET at one of the residences where victims were shot, and that the suspect fled, carjacked a vehicle nearby, and was chased by police.

NBC News placed the initial response on the 300 block of West 79th Street and said Bordelon described the crime scene as “extensive,” spanning two homes in the area and a third on Harrison Street nearby.

NBC News also quoted Bordelon describing “three different scenes,” with the “shooting itself occurred just down the road over here, the 300 block of West 79th,” and “There’s also another shooting related to this on Harrison Street,” before describing an adjacent residence on West 79 where one victim ran.

USA Today said the incident occurred just after 6 a.m. CT in the 300 block of West 79th Street in Shreveport, and described the “individual responsible” as allegedly carjacking a vehicle following the incident and being chased into an area in Bossier Parish where officers fatally shot the suspect.

Multiple outlets described the suspect’s death as occurring during the pursuit in Bossier Parish, and CBS News said Louisiana State Police detectives would investigate the circumstances around the suspect’s death since it involved an officer.

By late morning, NOLA reported the scene had been surrounded by law enforcement and said “At least 29 emergency vehicles were at the scene,” while WLBT/Gray News said officials were still gathering details about the crime scene extending across four locations.

As investigators processed the scene, law enforcement and state officials described the shooting as domestic and emphasized ongoing evidence collection.

Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said he couldn’t “even begin to imagine how such an event could occur,” and said investigators will be “going through every piece of evidence at every scene” to understand what took place.

CBS News quoted Smith saying the suspected shooter was killed by police during a vehicle chase, and said Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told reporters on X that multiple law enforcement agencies were investigating the incident.

USA Today reported Smith was “taken aback” and said his police resources were out in the community processing the scene and working diligently for “however long it takes” to understand what led to the tragedy.

Al Jazeera quoted Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux saying, “This is a rather extensive crime scene spanning between two residences,” and also quoted Arceneaux saying, “This is a tragic situation, maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had,” during a press conference.

In a statement, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry posted that he and his wife “are heartbroken over this horrific situation, and we’re praying for everyone affected,” while CBS News reported Landry said on X that he and his wife Sharon “are heartbroken over this situation” and are “praying for everyone affected.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Shreveport native, posted that his team was in touch with local police about the “heartbreaking tragedy,” and said, “We’re holding the victims, their families and loved ones, and our Shreveport community close in our thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time.”

Giffords, through its organization, released a statement saying, “This is a devastating act of domestic gun violence, taking the lives of eight young children,” and said, “All of us should be outraged that we live in a country that routinely subjects our kids to such unimaginable violence.”

Meanwhile, Louisiana State Police said their detectives have been asked by Shreveport police to investigate, and in a statement said no officers were harmed in the shooting that involved an officer after a police pursuit into Bossier City on Sunday morning.

While all outlets described an early Sunday mass shooting in Shreveport that killed eight children and ended with the suspect being shot dead by police, they differed in how they characterized the scene and what additional details they emphasized.

CBS News said ten people were struck by gunfire in all, and described the incident as “domestic in nature,” while NBC News said police did not share any information on the two who survived and described the crime scene as “extensive,” spanning two homes and a third on Harrison Street nearby.

CBS News

Al Jazeera reported that victims ranged in age from one to 14, and said Shreveport Police Corporal Chris Bordelon told reporters that the scene spanned between two residences with a third residence also part of the scene being combed by investigators.

The Guardian said the violence occurred early on Sunday morning in Shreveport’s Cedar Grove neighborhood and that police suggested there were at least four separate but nearby scenes involved, while USA Today said the incident began at a home on Harrison Street and then moved to W. 79th Street where the suspect fired shots in two residences before carjacking at the corner of W. 79th Street and Linwood.

People described the crime as “domestic” and said investigators believed at least some of the deceased children are related to the shooter, while New York Post similarly emphasized that some victims were “descendants” and added that the two survivors were adult women shot in the head.

WLBT/Gray News said the shooting began as a domestic dispute and that the victims range in age from 18 months to 14 years old, and it said two women were shot with one suffering from life-threatening injuries after being shot in the head.

NOLA reported that by 11 a.m. the scene had been surrounded by law enforcement and said “At least 29 emergency vehicles were at the scene,” while KTVB and Washington Post content in the provided material did not add further scene specifics beyond the basic death count.

Across the coverage, the shared core remained the same: police said the suspect fled, carjacked a vehicle, and was killed during the pursuit in Bossier Parish, with Louisiana State Police detectives investigating the officer-involved circumstances.

In the immediate aftermath, officials said investigations were ongoing and that multiple agencies were working to understand what led to the killings and how the suspect’s actions unfolded across the different locations.

CBS News reported that Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said on X that multiple law enforcement agencies were investigating the incident, and said Louisiana State Police detectives would investigate the circumstances around the suspect's death because it involved an officer.

CNN

NBC News said the investigation into the shooting is ongoing, and it described that police did not share any information about the two who survived.

USA Today said the Shreveport Police Department confirmed through a preliminary investigation that the incident began at a home on Harrison Street, and it said Louisiana State Police is investigating the officer-involved shooting while Shreveport Police investigate the scene in Shreveport.

NOLA reported that police were still gathering details and that two were taken to the hospital, while WLBT/Gray News said officials were still gathering details about the crime scene extending across four locations.

Al Jazeera added that Louisiana State Police say their detectives have been asked by Shreveport police to investigate and that investigators were still gathering details about the crime scene, which extended across three locations.

Beyond the on-scene work, Al Jazeera contextualized the incident with Gun Violence Archive data, saying the archive lists at least 119 mass shootings in the United States this year, resulting in 117 deaths, including 79 children, and 458 people injured.

The Guardian also referenced Gun Violence Archive counts, saying heading into Sunday there had been at least six mass murders across the US in 2026 and that the archive defines mass murders as cases in which four or more victims are killed.

For the local community, officials framed the next steps as processing evidence and continuing investigation, with Shreveport Chief Wayne Smith saying investigators would go “through every piece of evidence at every scene,” and Mayor Tom Arceneaux saying, “We all mourn for these families.”