Shreveport police are investigating why a man shot and killed seven of his children and an eighth child in what authorities describe as a domestic violence incident.
Police said the gunman, identified as Shamar Elkins, died after exchanging fire with officers as he attempted to flee in a stolen vehicle. It remains unclear whether he was killed by police or took his own life.
A crazed Louisiana dad fatally shot eight kids — including seven of his own children — and wounded two women during a rampage on Sunday morning. The victims ranged in age from 3 to 11. https://t.co/g6VoKmauPn pic.twitter.com/Zkrmz8bds9
— New York Post (@nypost) April 20, 2026
Investigators said the violence appeared to stem from an ongoing domestic dispute. Two women, one identified as Elkins’ wife and the other as a woman who told police she was his girlfriend, were also shot and remain in hospital.
Sequence of events
Police received their first call shortly before 6 a.m. on Sunday from a woman on the roof of the home where the eight children were later found dead. The victims ranged in age from three to eleven.
Before the killings, the girlfriend reported that Elkins had shot at her house a few blocks away and had taken her three children, who were later located by police. Officers arrived at the scene within minutes, but Elkins had already carjacked a vehicle and fled.
Shreveport, Louisiana, police chief Wayne Smith said they were working to determine why a man shot and killed seven of his children and an eighth child, adding that the eruption of violence appeared to be part of an ongoing ‘domestic dispute’ https://t.co/ltzLRQmTyP pic.twitter.com/8UeOfEtU18
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 20, 2026
Traffic patrol officers soon spotted the stolen car, and within fifteen minutes police pursuing him were exchanging gunfire in Bossier City, about six miles from the scene of the killings.
Victims identified
The Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office named 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.
Police chief Wayne Smith said the case showed signs of long‑standing domestic conflict. He added that investigators were working to determine how Elkins obtained the firearm used in the attack. Elkins had a 2019 felony conviction for illegal use of a firearm, which should have barred him from possessing a gun.
Wider context of gun violence
The Gun Violence Archive lists at least 119 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, excluding Sunday’s incident. Those events have resulted in 117 deaths, including 79 children, and 458 injuries. The organisation defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people, not including the shooter, are injured or killed.
Last year, the United States recorded 407 mass shootings, according to the archive.
Police in Shreveport say their investigation into the killings is continuing as they work to establish a full account of the events leading up to the attack.