Eight children ranges in age from 1 to 14 were shot to death early Sunday in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Two women and one teenager were wounded, Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said. The women are in critical condition, Arceneaux said. The teenager has non-life threatening injuries.
Police said that Shamar Elkins, who was the father of some children who were killed, was the shooter, according to CNN.
The suspect carjacked a vehicle, leading to a chase that reached into the next parish, Shreveport Police Cpl. Chris Bordelon said. Bordelon described the scene as “disgusting and evil.”
According to local Shreveport police, Shamar Elkins reportedly led police on a high speed chase, killed eight of his children and shot his wife, Shaneiqua Elkins, before eventually being killed by responding police officers.#DomesticViolence #tragedy #evil #domesticviolence… pic.twitter.com/tHyJ2pZIU0
— Mrgunsngear (@Mrgunsngear) April 19, 2026
“The vehicle was chased into Bossier Parish, and at which point in time, Shreveport police officers did discharge their firearm, and that individual is deceased,” he said.
“This is a tragic situation, maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had in Shreveport,” Arceneaux said.
According to KSLA-TV, one woman was in a relationship with Elkins. Police said one woman was shot in the head.
KSLA said that Elkins fired at police before he was killed
CITY Councilman Grayson Boucher said the attack highlights the rise of deadly domestic violence in Shreveport, according to USA Today.
“Over 30 percent of our crimes, 30 percent of our murders in the city of Shreveport are domestic,” he said. “Now that number has gone up. We’ve more than doubled our homicides in the city of Shreveport because of one act of domestic violence.”
“This is nothing but pure evil.”
Boucher asked for prayers for the survivors and first responders. “I’m here to tell you that the burden on them is real. They will carry this for the rest of their lives,” Boucher said.
In his statement on the tragedy Mayor Arceneaux said, “‘No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”
“Those words from John Donne remind us that a tragedy like this does not belong to one family alone—it belongs to all of us. Today, our community is grieving the unimaginable loss of innocent children. There are no words that can make sense of it, and no distance that shields us from it,” he said.
“Shreveport is not an island. We are connected—and in moments like this, that connection must mean something. It must mean compassion, it must mean awareness, and it must mean action.
“This tragedy reaches far beyond the scene itself. It affects the first responders who answered the call, the neighbors who witnessed the aftermath, the families who are now living a nightmare, and a community that feels shaken to its core. These are the kinds of moments that leave a lasting imprint—on our hearts, on our minds, and on our sense of safety.”
He added that the community “must not ignore the deeper issues—violence in the home, untreated trauma, and the silence that allows both to grow.”
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