Shamar Elkins Kills Eight Children in Shreveport, Louisiana, Police Say

A man identified as Shamar Elkins, 31, opened fire in northwestern Louisiana early Sunday morning, killing eight children and a cousin in Shreveport, according to police and multiple outlets.

“A 31-year-old man opened fire in northwestern Louisiana on Sunday morning, killing his seven young children and a cousin in Shreveport”

Al Jazeera

The shooting began in the Cedar Grove area shortly after 6am, with Shreveport Police officer Chris Bordelon saying police responded to reports of gunfire in the Cedar Grove area shortly after 6am on Sunday.

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera reported that Elkins first shot his wife at a home on Harrison Street before going to another residence, where eight children and another adult were killed.

CNN said the children were killed across three Shreveport, Louisiana, homes early Sunday, and that the victims included seven siblings and a cousin, with the coroner’s office telling CNN the children were three boys and five girls ranging in age from 3 to 11.

CBS News described the children’s deaths as an “execution-style” shooting and said the victims included five girls and three boys ranging in age from 3 to 11, with the coroner’s office confirming.

The Guardian likewise said police described the killings as a “violent domestic incident” and that the gunman fatally shot the children at two separate Shreveport houses.

After the shootings, police said Elkins fled, carjacked a vehicle, and led police on a chase into nearby Bossier Parish, where he was killed in an officer-involved confrontation, with CNN saying the gunman was fatally shot by officers after carjacking a vehicle and leading police on a chase into the next parish.

In parallel, Fox News and NBC News both reported that police exchanged fire with Elkins and that he was pronounced dead after the pursuit.

Multiple outlets reconstructed the incident as a sequence of calls, shootings, and a carjacking that ended in a police pursuit.

Fox News reported that Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith gave a timeline beginning with “5:55 a.m. – Shreveport police receive the first 911 call” from a caller on top of a house reporting a shooting at a home in the 300 block of West 79th Street.

BBC

Fox News said that “6:07 a.m. – A second shooting is reported in the 500 block of Harrison Street,” where a woman said her boyfriend shot her, abducted her three children, and fled.

The same timeline in Fox News stated that “6:15 a.m. – Officers learn the suspect carjacked a red Kia Sportage near West 79th Street and Linwood,” and that “6:17–6:18 a.m. – Police units on random patrol spot the vehicle traveling south on Interstate 49, crossing into Bossier City.”

Fox News then described the confrontation as “6:29–6:30 a.m. – Officers confront the suspect on Brompton Lane; gunfire is exchanged,” followed by “6:43 a.m. – Officers clear the West 79th Street home and find multiple victims dead.”

In a separate account, NBC News said Shreveport police officers responded to the 300 block of West 79th Street just after 6 a.m. following reports of a domestic disturbance, and that the gunman first shot a woman on nearby Harrison Street before heading to the home on West 79th Street.

NBC News also reported that the gunman fled and carjacked a person at gunpoint near the intersection of Linwood Avenue and West 79th Street, and that officers shot and killed the suspect in neighboring Bossier Parish after a pursuit.

CNN added that Elkins was arrested in 2019 on a firearms case after a man in a car pulled a gun on him and he fired his own weapon, and that the Louisiana State Police are investigating the officer-involved shooting.

The victims were identified by name and age across multiple reports, with Shamar Elkins killing seven children who were his and one child described as a cousin.

“Louisiana shooting that killed 8 children a domestic violence incident: officials Just 10 days after local authorities in Caddo Parish, La”

CBC

CBS News listed the children as Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5, and said the coroner’s office confirmed the ages as ranging from 3 to 11.

NBC News similarly said the children killed were three boys and five girls, ages 3 to 11, and that one of the children was a cousin, according to the coroner’s office.

Al Jazeera said police said the children ranged in age from one to 14 years and that one child managed to escape by jumping from the roof and calling authorities.

Fox News said both an adult and a child jumped from the roof of a home while fleeing Shamar Elkins, and that “It was a child and an adult,” with Smith saying they “jumped off the roof and they both are in stable condition.”

CNN said a 13-year-old boy was injured after fleeing from a home and jumping from the roof, and that he sustained a “few broken bones” but is expected to recover.

Several outlets described the two adult women who were shot and survived, including Elkins’ wife and another woman believed to be his girlfriend.

CNN said Elkins’ wife was shot first and had “very serious injuries,” and that the other woman had “life threatening injuries.”

CBS News said two women were hospitalized with serious gunshot wounds and were expected to survive, and that one of the women was the gunman’s wife.

NBC News said the gunman’s wife and a woman believed to be his girlfriend were also shot and seriously injured, and that the gunman shot 10 victims in all.

Local authorities and national outlets framed the killings as domestic violence, while also pointing to a limited prior record and a probation history.

CBC reported that “Louisiana shooting that killed 8 children a domestic violence incident: officials” and quoted Caddo Parish Sheriff Henry Whitehorn saying, “Eight innocent children losing their lives as a result of domestic violence.”

CBS News

CBC also said the news conference followed “Just 10 days after local authorities in Caddo Parish, La., announced a new domestic violence unit,” and it included statements from local officials urging community support.

CBC quoted one official saying, “There are three mothers at this point that are going to be faced with immense pain,” and another saying, “domestic violence is nobody's joke: these are the residual effects of what happens if we are not paying attention.”

CBC reported that police said they weren’t aware of previous instances of domestic violence involving Shamar Elkins, but that he was placed on probation in 2019 after pleading guilty to illegal use of weapons.

CNN said Elkins was arrested in 2019 on a firearms case after a man in a car pulled a gun on him and he fired his own weapon, and that he served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from August 2013 to August 2020 as a signal support system specialist and fire support specialist.

Al Jazeera said family members told the Associated Press that Elkins and his wife were in the process of separating and had a court date scheduled for Monday, and that Crystal Brown said the couple had been arguing over the split before the shooting.

The Guardian reported that police had said Elkins had been arrested in 2019 in a firearms case but were unaware of any prior domestic violence issues, and it said Wayne Smith described being “taken aback” by the deadly shooting.

As investigators continued to piece together what set the tragedy in motion, public officials and community leaders offered statements and support plans.

“A man fatally shot eight children, seven of them his own, across three Shreveport, Louisiana, homes early Sunday, according to police”

CNN

NBC News quoted Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith saying, “I just don’t know what to say. My heart is just taken aback,” and it also quoted Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry calling the incident “heartbroken” and grateful for local law enforcement and first responders.

CNN

Time Magazine reported that Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said, “This is a tragic situation—maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had,” and it quoted House Speaker Mike Johnson saying he posted on X that he had spoken with Arceneaux and the law enforcement agencies investigating “to pledge any assistance we can possibly provide.”

In a separate account, KTBS 3 said Speaker of the House Mike Johnson led a moment of silence on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday to honor eight children killed in Sunday’s shooting in Shreveport, joined by U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields and other members of Louisiana's congressional delegation.

KSLA reported that Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry traveled to Shreveport and announced plans for First Lady Sharon Landry’s foundation’s Love One Louisiana to pay for the funeral expenses of all victims, and it said the foundation opened two separate funds including “April 19th Survivor’s Fund” and “April 19th Memorial Fund - Domestic violence prevention.”

CBS News reported that Taylor said the victims’ family members asked that the public “allow them to grieve and go through this process,” and it quoted Taylor saying, “This is a difficult, difficult process,” as she described how the family was trying to “wrap their mind around what has occurred in their family.”

Fox News reported that James Green said, “Today, we pause to honor the lives that were lost and families forever changed,” and it also said Green asked the public to keep survivors and a 13-year-old child in prayers.

USA Today Network’s Shreveport Times reported that Councilman James Green said, “Our first priority is to acknowledge the lives affected and to stand with those who are grieving,” and it said a prayer vigil would be held Monday, April 20 at 6 p.m. at West 78th and Linwood.