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

A mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana, killed eight children early Sunday morning in an attack that police said targeted the gunman’s family across two houses in a neighborhood south of downtown Shreveport.

ABC7 Chicago reported that the Louisiana father fatally shot eight children, including seven of his own, and also shot two women, including “the gunman's wife, who was the mother of their children,” who were “critically wounded.”

ABC

Police identified the 31-year-old suspect as Shamar Elkins, and ABC7 Chicago said he died after a police pursuit that ended with officers firing on him.

BBC reported that authorities were alerted to the gun attack at 05:55 CDT (10:55 GMT) on Sunday, when a caller reported they were “on top of the house” while the suspect remained inside.

BBC also described how a woman and a child jumped from a rooftop to escape, and said both were in a stable condition.

CBS News said the children were killed in what police described as an “execution-style” shooting, and it identified the suspected shooter to CBS News as Shamar Elkins.

Across the coverage, the timeline and geography of the violence were repeatedly tied to multiple calls and multiple locations, including a later carjacking and a chase into Bossier Parish.

CNN added that the attack spanned multiple homes and that Elkins shot Christina Snow, the mother of three of his children, in the face, while a third woman and a 12-year-old girl jumped off the roof trying to escape.

Multiple outlets described how the attack unfolded through a sequence of emergency calls, rooftop escapes, and then a second location where police later exchanged gunfire with Elkins.

BBC said the first emergency call came at 05:55 CDT (10:55 GMT) and that the caller reported they were “on top of the house” while the suspect remained inside, before later reporting that “she and her children had fled from the roof and were now in the backyard.”

ABC News

BBC reported that minutes later a separate call came in about another home, where a caller told police “that her boyfriend had shot her, taken her three children, and fled the scene.”

BBC added that shortly after that call, police received a report of a carjacking, and that police believed children taken from the second residence might be inside the vehicle.

BBC said that at about 06:29, officers located the suspect and exchanged gunfire with him, and that the suspect was found dead at the scene.

CBS News similarly said the incident began as a domestic dispute at around 5 a.m., with police receiving a call just before 6 a.m. and then receiving another call minutes later that the caller and her children were in the backyard.

CNN provided additional detail on the early morning sequence, saying the first call came just before 6 a.m. from someone on the roof of a house on West 79th Street, and that police arrived on the scene at 6:01 a.m.

CNN then said that around 6:15 a.m., Elkins carjacked a vehicle and led authorities on a chase into neighboring Bossier Parish, and that officers shot Elkins at 6:29 a.m. before he was pronounced dead just after 7 a.m.

The children killed in the Shreveport attack were identified by multiple outlets with the same set of names and ages, and several reports described how the victims were connected as siblings and a cousin.

ABC7 Chicago said the children were all killed in the same house and ranged in age from 3 to 11 years old, and it listed the victims identified by their mothers as 3-year-old Jayla Elkins, 5-year-old Shayla Elkins, 6-year-old Kayla Pugh, 7-year-old Layla Pugh, 10-year-old Markaydon Pugh, 11-year-old Sariahh Snow, 6-year-old Khedarrion Snow and 5-year-old Braylon Snow.

BBC said the eight children killed were siblings and one cousin, and it listed the same names and ages, adding that they were three boys and five girls.

CBS News also listed the same eight children and said their mothers identified them 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.

KSLA reported that the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office identified the eight children and said “Seven siblings and a cousin were shot and killed,” listing the same names and ages.

CNN described the youngest victim, Jayla Elkins, as “just 3 years old,” and it listed the other children killed with the same ages.

Several reports also described a 13-year-old who was injured while escaping, with BBC saying “A ninth child was taken to hospital after jumping from the roof of the home while escaping,” and CNN noting that police previously said it was a 13-year-old boy who jumped off the roof.

The Associated Press and Hartford Courant added a human detail about Braylon Snow, saying he “just turned 5” and was among seven siblings fatally shot by their father in an attack that also killed their cousin.

Officials and community leaders repeatedly framed the attack as domestic violence and described the shock of responding to multiple crime scenes.

ABC7 Chicago quoted Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith saying, “I just don't know what to say, my heart is just taken aback,” and it added that he said, “I cannot begin to imagine how such an event could occur.”

ABC7 Chicago

ABC7 Chicago also quoted Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Chris Bordelon saying detectives were confident the shooting was “entirely a domestic incident.”

BBC reported that Caddo Parish Sheriff Henry Whitehorn said, “I don't believe that any of us could have imagined that only days later our community would be shaken by the most heart-breaking tragedy we have ever witnessed.”

CBS News quoted Shreveport City Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor saying, “This is a difficult, difficult process,” and it also quoted another councilperson calling it an “epidemic” in their city.

CNN quoted Mayor Tom Arceneaux describing the shooting as “maybe the worst tragic situation we've ever had in Shreveport,” and it also quoted him saying, “This kind of shooting "rattles the entire city," the mayor told CNN.”

The Guardian said detectives were “confident the shooting was “entirely a domestic” case,” and it reported that Louisiana state police took over the officers’ killing of Shamar Elkins, saying, “One subject was shot and has been pronounced dead. No officers were harmed during the incident.”

NTD News quoted Caddo Parish Sheriff Henry Whitehorn saying, “We can not afford to wait until the next crisis,” and it quoted him adding, “This is the responsibility of all of us. We owe it to the eight children who were lost.”

While the core facts of the Shreveport attack were consistent across outlets—eight children killed, the suspect identified as Shamar Elkins, and the domestic framing—coverage diverged in how it described uncertainty, the number of people shot, and the emphasis on prior history.

ABC7 Chicago said authorities did not say what may have set off the violence, while it also stated police were confident it was “entirely a domestic incident.”

ABC7 Chicago

BBC, by contrast, said it remained unclear whether the suspect took his own life or was killed by police, and it described the weapon as “an assault-style weapon” while also saying it was “not yet known how it was obtained.”

CBS News described the children’s deaths as “execution-style” and said ten victims were struck by gunfire in all, while it reported that two women were hospitalized with serious gunshot wounds and were expected to survive.

The Guardian reported that “A total of 11 people were shot” during Sunday’s violence, and it said the two women injured included Shaneiqua Pugh and another wounded woman, with both injured women listed in critical condition.

CNN added a different detail about the suspect’s mental state and social media, saying Elkins reposted a prayer beginning, “Dear God, Today I ask You to help me guard my mind and my emotions.”

The Guardian went further by citing a New York Times report that Elkins called his mother and stepfather on 5 April—Easter Sunday—and told them through tears that he wanted to take his own life, including the quote from his stepfather Marcus Jackson: “Some people don’t come back from their demons.”

The Associated Press and Hartford Courant focused on the preschool classroom impact, with Angela Hall recalling that one of her students said Monday, “Braylon, he’s not here,” and with Hall saying, “When they come back tomorrow, we can tell them, ‘Hey, we missed you, we’re glad you’re back’.”

In the aftermath of the Shreveport killings, outlets described both immediate medical and investigative steps and longer-running community efforts to address domestic violence.

ABC7 Chicago said police were still sorting through multiple crime scenes and that officials appeared stunned, requesting patience and prayers from the community as they sorted through multiple crime scenes.

The Guardian similarly said police had been unaware of prior domestic violence issues, even as it reported that Louisiana state police took over the officers’ killing of Shamar Elkins and stated, “No officers were harmed during the incident.”

KSLA said Louisiana State Police was investigating the incident and that state police detectives had been asked by Shreveport police to investigate the shooting of Elkins, while also saying “SPD says counseling/mental health services will be available for officers who responded to the scene.”

Community leaders also tied the response to domestic violence prevention, with BBC reporting that Sheriff Henry Whitehorn noted that a new domestic violence centre had opened in the city just 10 days earlier.

CNN and the Guardian both described the investigation into motive as ongoing, with CNN saying police had not yet established a motive and the investigation continuing, and the Guardian saying there was still much to investigate but detectives were confident it was “entirely a domestic” case.

The Associated Press described the immediate effect on early childhood education, with teacher Angela Hall saying she was relying on her faith and praying for “all the educators that were connected to these children.”

Finally, NTD News quoted Sheriff Henry Whitehorn saying, “This is the responsibility of all of us,” and it framed the next steps as a collective obligation toward the eight children who were lost.