By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• Eight children, including seven of their own, were fatally shot early Sunday in Shreveport, Louisiana, in what police described as a domestic-related mass shooting.
• The suspected gunman, identified as 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, also shot two adult women, including his wife, and fled the scene.
• Police located Elkins following a vehicle pursuit; he was killed after a confrontation with officers.
• Children killed ranged in age from approximately 3 to 11, and responders found multiple crime scenes across two residences.
• Authorities said the incident began as a domestic dispute and remains under active investigation.
SHREVEPORT, LA — A mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana, left eight children dead early Sunday in what authorities described as a domestic-related attack, police said.
Shreveport Police Department officials identified the suspected shooter as 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, who fatally shot seven of his own children and an additional child in multiple homes in the neighborhood, according to law enforcement statements.
Two adult women, including the suspected shooter’s wife, were also shot during the incidents and were transported to hospitals with serious injuries, police said.
Authorities said Elkins fled the scene in a vehicle and was located following a police pursuit that ended in Bossier Parish; he died during a confrontation with officers, though details of the final encounter have not been fully disclosed.
Responders found the victims, whose ages ranged from about 3 to 11 years old, at two separate residences, with some children killed inside a home and at least one found outside while trying to flee, police reported.
Shreveport officials characterized the shooting as the result of a domestic dispute that escalated into lethal violence, and investigators continue examining evidence and circumstances surrounding the attacks.