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

A Louisiana father, identified as Shamar Elkins, killed eight children—seven of his own and one of their cousins—early Sunday in Shreveport, Louisiana, police said, in what officials described as an “execution-style” shooting.

CBS News reported that the children included five girls and three boys ranging in age from 3 to 11, and that 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.

ABC

The attack unfolded across two houses, with KSAT describing “two homes in a Shreveport neighborhood,” and ABC News saying police released a timeline of a “68-minute massacre.”

Police said the incident began as a domestic dispute at around 5 a.m., with CBS News reporting that the suspect first shot a woman in the face before going to a different, nearby residence where all eight people who were killed were shot.

CBS News also said police described the shooting as “one of the most challenging incidents” and “one of the worst days that could have ever happened here in Shreveport,” quoting Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith.

The BBC reported that a woman and a child “jumped from a rooftop to escape” and that a ninth child was taken to hospital after jumping from the roof while escaping.

Multiple outlets described the suspect dying after a police pursuit ended with officers firing on him, while it remained unclear whether he took his own life or was killed by police, according to CBS News and the BBC.

Police and media accounts reconstructed a rapid sequence of calls and attacks beginning before sunrise in Shreveport, with ABC News laying out a minute-by-minute timeline that began at 5:55 a.m. on Sunday.

ABC News said the first call came at 5:55 a.m. regarding a disturbance at a residence on W. 79th Street in the Ceder Grove neighborhood of South Shreveport, where the caller reported they were “on top of the house” while the suspect was inside.

ABC News

ABC News then described a second call at 6:07 a.m. reporting a shooting at a home on Harrison Street, where the caller told police that “her boyfriend had shot her, taken her three children, and fled the scene.”

The BBC similarly reported that within minutes of the initial emergency call, the caller told dispatch that “she and her children had fled from the roof and were now in the backyard,” and that shortly after the second call police received information that led them to believe children taken from the second residence might be inside a vehicle.

CBS News said officers initially received a call just before 6 a.m., and that the caller said they were on top of the house with the suspect still inside, before a separate call minutes later reported that the woman and her children fled from the roof and were in the backyard.

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

Across outlets, the children’s deaths were described as occurring in the same house, with People saying “Seven of the children were found dead in the home — several in their beds — and the eighth child was found deceased near the roof.”

Police and community leaders framed the killings as domestic-violence related, while also describing the investigation as ongoing and motive as not yet established in some accounts.

“Motive sought in fatal shooting of 8 children in Louisiana as police give timeline of massacre The suspect is the father of seven of the children killed, according to police”

ABC News

ABC News reported that Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said domestic violence is believed to be the primary motive behind the killings, and it quoted him saying, “April 19 ... will be written in the pages of history as one of the worst days that could have ever happened here in Shreveport.”

CBS News also quoted Smith calling the event “one of the most challenging incidents” his department has ever faced and “one of the worst days that could have ever happened here in Shreveport.”

KSAT said police have not provided a motive for the killings, and it added that family members said Elkins and his wife were separating, with community leaders calling for a reckoning over domestic violence.

Shreveport Councilman Grayson Boucher told CBS News that “Over 30% of our crimes and 30% of our murders in the city of Shreveport are domestic in relation,” and he said “Now that number has gone up” and “We've more than doubled our homicide in the city of Shreveport because of one act of domestic violence.”

The BBC reported that Chief Smith said, “All evidence and indications are that this erupted as a domestic dispute,” and it added that the weapon used was described as “an assault-style weapon.”

In a separate account, ABC News said Smith told reporters investigators were probing five different crime scenes connected to the shootings.

Multiple reports described Elkins’ prior criminal case and his military service, while also noting uncertainty about how he obtained the weapon used in the attack.

KSAT said court records showed Elkins was placed on probation in 2019 after pleading guilty to illegal use of weapons, and it described a police report from that case in which Elkins fired five rounds at a vehicle and told police that someone inside it had pulled a gun on him.

ABC7 Chicago

KSAT added that under Louisiana law, a person convicted of illegal use of a weapon is banned from having a gun for at least 10 years after completing their sentence and probation, and it said investigators were not aware of other domestic violence issues involving Elkins.

CBS News said Elkins previously pleaded guilty to a weapons charge in 2019 and that he served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from 2013 to 2020 as a signal support system specialist and fire support specialist, with the U.S. Army confirming his roles.

The BBC reported that Elkins served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from 2013 to 2020 as a signal support system specialist and fire support specialist, but it said he was never deployed.

The BBC also said it was not yet known how the weapon was obtained, even as it described it as “an assault-style weapon.”

Across accounts, the suspect was identified as 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, and his death followed a police pursuit that ended with officers firing on him, according to KSAT and the BBC.

After the shooting, officials and community figures emphasized domestic violence prevention and support for victims’ families, while media accounts differed on some details about the surviving child and the suspect’s actions.

CBS News said two women were hospitalized with serious gunshot wounds and were expected to survive, and it identified one as the gunman's wife, adding that one underwent surgery Monday, according to Shreveport City Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor.

ABC7 Chicago

ABC News reported that Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry announced that the Love One Louisiana Foundation, a nonprofit founded by his wife, Sharon, will pay all expenses for the children's funerals, and it quoted Landry saying, “Both she and I recognize no amount of money or act of charity can repair the pain, but [what] we can lean on is that this act of charity can stand as a beacon of faith and belief that good things still happen in this world.”

The BBC said Caddo Parish Sheriff Henry Whitehorn noted that a new domestic violence centre had opened in the city just 10 days earlier, and it quoted him saying, “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.”

In the same BBC account, police added they were aware of reports that the suspect had been going through a divorce and was due in court on Monday, and it said the investigation is continuing.

People reported that the surviving child was a 12-year-old girl and that Shreveport police spokesperson Christopher Bordelon corrected earlier reporting, saying, “He had some injuries, some broken bones, but we do expect him to recover,".

The BBC also reported that police did not identify the survivors or disclose their connection to the attacker, while CBS News said the victims’ family members asked that the public "allow them to grieve and go through this process".