An American man, 31, was shot by the police in Shreveport on Sunday morning after killing seven of his children and one of their cousins amid a divorce with his wife.
It is the worst shooting in the United States in over two years. Eight children were shot dead in Louisiana in a case of domestic violence, authorities in this southern state announced on Sunday, April 19. Three other people, including a teenager who managed to escape, were injured. The man suspected of the shootings, father of most of the victims, was shot by the police. Here’s what we know about this new tragedy that has saddened the United States.
Victims from the same family aged “from 3 to 11 years old”
The incident unfolded between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Sunday in Shreveport, a major city in Louisiana, close to Texas. Gunshots were first fired at a woman in a house, as reported by KTBS. It was in a second residence, 400 meters away, that police found nine people shot, “eight of whom were killed,” most shot in the head while sleeping. One of the children who was killed was found outside the house, after trying to escape through the roof, according to the police.
“Three boys and five girls aged 3 to 11 were slain,” announced the coroner’s office, correcting a police report that initially stated eight victims “from 1 to 14 years old”. Seven of them were brothers and sisters or half-siblings, while the last child killed was one of their cousins. The victims’ identities, with three different last names, were revealed by the coroner and published by the Shreveport Times.
Two other people were seriously injured. They are the wife of the suspect, mother of four of the eight slain children, and another woman, mother of three others, according to a family member, as cited by Associated Press. A 13-year-old teenager who was in the second residence survived after jumping from the roof, reported CNN. He was hospitalized for minor fractures, according to Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux.
A suspect shot dead, father of seven of the slain children
After fleeing in a stolen vehicle, a suspect was pursued by law enforcement. “At the end of this chase, he got out of the vehicle with a weapon, and our agents were forced to neutralize him,” reported Shreveport Police Chief Chris Bordelon. No officers were injured.
Authorities identified the shooter as Shamar Elkins, a 31-year-old man. He was the father of seven of the eight minors killed. He had previously been arrested for drunk driving in 2016 and for illegal possession and use of weapons against a vehicle in 2019, but he was not known for domestic violence. After serving in the Louisiana National Guard from 2013 to 2020, he joined the UPS transportation company, according to the army and the suspect’s mother.
The shooter had expressed suicidal thoughts
Authorities announced opening an investigation “to determine the motives” of the crimes committed on Sunday. According to The New York Times, Shamar Elkins had mentioned suicidal thoughts to his mother and stepfather at the beginning of April, citing “dark ideas” and the fact that his wife wanted a divorce. “You can get through this,” his stepfather assured him, receiving the response, “Some people don’t come back from their demons.”
On Saturday afternoon, a neighbor saw the suspect “sitting on the porch,” while “all these children were playing in the garden in front of the house,” according to a testimony from a resident of the neighborhood. A family member of the shooter mentioned that Shamar Elkins and his wife were expected in court on Monday to settle their divorce.
