Timeline: Father shot his 7 children, their cousin in what officials call ‘one of the deadliest shootings’
SHREVPORT, La. (Gray News) – Just 10 days after a community opened a domestic violence center, eight innocent children were killed in a mass shooting Sunday that began as a domestic dispute, police said.
A Louisiana man, identified as Shamar Elkins, fatally shot seven of his children and another child in an attack against his family.
Authorities said he was in the middle of separating from his wife, who also was shot and wounded, a relative said.
Officials said the children — three boys and five girls — ranged in age from 3 to 11.
According to the coroner, the children were identified 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.
The violence that unfolded early Sunday across two houses in Shreveport, was one of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings in recent years.
Authorities said Monday during a news conference that the first 911 call came in at 5:55 a.m. from someone on the roof alerting dispatchers that a man inside the house was shot.
The caller said the suspect was a relative of the caller and informed authorities that everyone inside the home had been shot.
At 6:01 a.m., Police Chief Wayne Smith said the caller and her child jumped off the roof and were in the back yard of the home and met with officers who arrived just minutes later.
Smith said a second 911 call was received at 6:07 a.m. about a shooting. The caller said her boyfriend had shot her and that she had taken her three children and ran from the scene.
During the news conference, Smith said the shooter was identified as Elkins at 6:09 a.m. and the caller confirmed all the victims were related.
At 6:15 a.m., officers learned Elkins had carjacked a red Kia Sport. Traffic units saw the vehicle two minutes later driving southbound on I-49.
After a short pursuit, officers found Elkins had been killed by gunfire. It was unclear whether the gunshot was self-inflicted or the result of officers firing on him. The investigation is ongoing.
Elkins and his wife, identified by family members as Shaneiqua Elkins, were separating and had been due in court Monday, said Crystal Brown, a cousin of a woman shot in the attack. She said the couple had been arguing about the separation before the shooting.
“He murdered his children,” Brown said.
Smith said Monday, investigators are working with the ATF to determine the origin of the weapon. They are trying to figure out how Elkins got possession of the assault-style weapon.
Investigators were not aware of other domestic violence issues involving Elkins, police spokesperson Chris Bordelon said.
Elkins had served in the Louisiana National Guard from 2013 to 2020 as a signal support system specialist and a fire support specialist, said guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Noel Collins. Elkins held the rank of private and had no deployments, Collins said.
The shooting in Shreveport was the deadliest in the U.S. since January 2024, when eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
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