SHREVEPORT, La.—A Louisiana father fatally shot eight children, including seven of his own, and shot and wounded his wife and another woman in the deadliest mass shooting in the United States in more than two years.
The attack on Sunday morning unfolded in two homes in a Shreveport neighborhood. The gunman, identified as 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, died after a police pursuit that ended with officers firing on him, authorities said.
Police have not provided a motive for the killings. Family members said Elkins and his wife were separating and community leaders called for a reckoning over domestic violence as the shooting reverberated across the city, including in the classrooms where the children attended school.
Shootings Began Before Sunrise
The attack began before dawn in a neighborhood south of downtown Shreveport.Police received the first report around 5:55 a.m. from a caller stating they were on top of a house where someone had been shot, Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said. Five minutes later, police were told that Elkins had shot everyone inside the 79th Street house.
Troy Brown, Elkin's brother-in-law, said his wife and his 12-year-old daughter had escaped through the home’s roof.
Officers arrived within minutes but another call at 6:07 a.m. reported a second attack on nearby Harrison Street, where the caller said Elkins had shot her before fleeing, according to Smith. Police then received word the gunman had stolen a car, leading to a pursuit and eventually an exchange of gunfire.
Gunman Had Felony Gun Conviction
Court records showed that Elkins was placed on probation in 2019 after pleading guilty to illegal use of weapons. A police report for that case said Elkins fired five rounds at a vehicle and told police that someone inside it had pulled a gun on him.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. Investigators were not aware of other domestic violence issues involving Elkins, said police spokesperson Chris Bordelon.
Authorities have not said how or where Elkins obtained the weapon used in Sunday's attack.
Elkins had served in the Louisiana National Guard from 2013 to 2020, held the rank of private and had no deployments, a guard spokesperson said. He was a signal support system specialist and a fire support specialist.
Murdered Children Were All Under 12
The eight children ranged in age from 3 to 11. Besides Elkins' seven children, his nephew was among the slain, according to the Caddo Parish coroner’s office.Family members described the gunman’s wife, Shaneiqua Elkins, as a doting mother who celebrated her children’s success in school and carefully dressed them before family events.
Francine Monro Brown, a cousin of Shaneiqua Elkins, said she would often see the children playing in the yard on Sunday mornings when she drove past the house on her way to church. She called them “happy” and “joyful.”
Elkins and his wife were separating and had been arguing about their relationship before the shooting, said Crystal Brown, a cousin of a woman shot in the attack.