A man in Louisiana killed eight children and injured two adults before he was later killed by police after a carjacking. The police have identified the suspect as Shamar Elkins, who killed seven of his own children in the tragic incident.
As reported by NBC News, police in Shreveport were called to the scene of a home on the 300 block of West 79th Street in the early morning hours. As the police report shared, Elkins shot one woman on a nearby street before heading to the West 79th Street home where the suspect’s children resided and carried out the killing.
Elkins was reported to have carjacked a person with a handgun at a nearby intersection and fled the scene, according to police. After pursuing the suspect, officers cornered Elkins in Bossier Parish and killed him.
The children who were slain ranged in age from 18 months to 12 years old. One of the victims was not Elkins’ child, and it was also reported that the women injured were his wife and girlfriend.
“I just don’t know what to say. My heart is just taken aback,” Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said to reporters. “I just cannot begin to imagine how such an event can occur.”
Adding to the tally of the shooting victims, one teen was reportedly injured after falling from a roof to escape gunfire. It hasn’t been reported who the teen was in relation to the suspect or victims.
(Shreveport Police Department Corporal Chris Bordelon pictured above)
Shreveport police spokesperson Christopher Bordelon added that one of the women victims, Elkins’ wife, was shot in the face and survived her wounds. The other woman who was shot was reportedly the girlfriend of Elkins, according to the spokesperson, but her injuries were not reported.
One of the most shocking details is that a number of the victims were shot while sleeping, with Elkins shooting them in the head. Some neighbors near the home said that they were only alerted to the incident after police arrived.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose he represents in Congress is part of Shreveport, issued a statement, calling the shooting a “heartbreaking tragedy.”
Shamar Elkins was a former member of the Louisiana Army National Guard and served between August 2013 and 2020. He was arrested in 2019 on a charge of illegal use of a firearm.
If you, or someone you know, is affected by domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233), where trained counselors can listen and help to figure out next steps.
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Photo: Getty
