SHREVEPORT, La. (TCN) — A 31-year-old father was killed by police after allegedly fatally shooting eight children, including seven of his own, in a spree that spanned two households.
The Shreveport Times reports that at around 6 a.m. on April 19, Shamar Elkins allegedly shot a woman at one house and then traveled to another house, where he shot the children. The victims were identified by the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office 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. Shreveport police spokesman Chris Bordelon said the investigation is active but that the shooting was an isolated domestic incident.
According to NBC News, the adults Elkins allegedly shot are believed to be his wife and girlfriend, and one of the eight children fatally shot was a cousin. In total, Elkins allegedly shot 10 people; an additional person, a teenager, was injured after falling from a roof. Bordelon said all the children were shot in their sleep and that the majority of victims were shot in the head. He referred to it as “a disgusting and evil scene.”
Elkins then allegedly carjacked a person to flee the scene. After a pursuit, authorities shot and killed him in a neighboring parish.
The Associated Press reports Crystal Brown, a cousin of one of the adults who was shot, said Elkins and his wife were scheduled to appear in court on April 20. They were reportedly in the middle of a separation.
Brown told the AP that Elkins and his wife had three children together, and that Elkins had four children with the other woman who was shot. All the children were in one house when the fatal shootings occurred.
According to USA Today, Elkins pleaded guilty to a weapons-related charge in 2019 and got probation. He had previously served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from 2013 to 2020 but was never deployed.
Elkins reportedly had photos of his children on his Facebook account. USA Today reports he posted a photo of himself with his seven children on Easter Sunday captioned, “Happy Easter had a wonderful time at church for the first time with all my kids what a blessed day.”
The New York Post reports Elkins posted about his mental health struggles on social media as well. In one post, he wrote, “When depression tries to settle in, when anger rises, when anxiety or panic comes, give me the awareness to recognize what is not from You and the strength to reject it immediately in the name of JESUS.”
The Associated Press reports the incident was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States in more than two years.
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