8 children killed in shooting in Louisiana as father targets his family

A man killed eight children — seven of his own kids and one of their cousins— early Sunday in a mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana, officials said. The shooter is also dead after police pursued him and opened fire.

The children killed ranged in age from 3 to 11, the coroner’s office confirmed. Police identified the suspected shooter to CBS News as Shamar Elkins.

Ten victims were struck by gunfire in all, Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Chris Bordelon said at a news conference.

Two adult women were being treated for serious gunshot wounds. A teenager sustained other injuries that were not considered life-threatening, Shreveport police said in a statement.  

The suspect first shot a woman before going to a nearby residence, where all eight people who were killed were shot, according to police. One of the victims then ran to an adjacent residence and was able to call authorities, police said.

A relative told The Associated Press that two women who were shot were the mothers of the man’s children. She said he and his wife had been arguing about their separation and were due in court Monday.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said on X that multiple law enforcement agencies are investigating the incident.

Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said he couldn’t “even begin to imagine how such an event could occur” and said investigators will be “going through every piece of evidence at every scene” to understand what took place.

“Over 30% of our crimes and 30% of our murders in the city of Shreveport are domestic in relation. Now that number has gone up,” Shreveport Councilman Grayson Boucher said at a news conference Sunday afternoon. “We’ve more than doubled our homicide in the city of Shreveport because of one act of domestic violence.”

Officers responded to the shooting just after 6 a.m. ET at the residence where the victims were shot, Shreveport police said. The suspect fled, carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint nearby and was chased by police, according to the department. Police said the suspect was killed after officers involved in that chase opened fire.

The shooter was acting on his own, police said.

Louisiana State Police said its detectives will investigate the circumstances around the suspect’s death, since it involved an officer. In a statement, the superintendent said investigators were “working to process the scene and gather further information.”

Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said the shooting “affects the entire community.”

“This is a tragic situation, maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had in Shreveport,” he said, adding, “We all mourn for these families.”

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said on X that he and his wife Sharon “are heartbroken over this situation” and are “praying for everyone affected,” while Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy said his “heart is with the Bossier Shreveport community as we mourn the innocent lives lost this morning.”

“I wish the surviving victims a complete and swift recovery,” Cassidy said. Bossier Parish, neighboring Shreveport, is where the car chase ended and the suspect was fatally shot, police said.  

House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose Louisiana district includes Shreveport, referred to it as a “heartbreaking tragedy” in a post on X and said he was holding “the victims, their families and loved ones, and our Shreveport community close in our thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time.” 

Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who started a gun-violence prevention organization after she was severely wounded in a mass shooting in 2011, also released a statement. “This is a devastating act of domestic gun violence, taking the lives of eight young children. My heart is breaking for their families, the survivors, and everyone in Shreveport today,” Giffords said. “All of us should be outraged that we live in a country that routinely subjects our kids to such unimaginable violence.”

The White House was also monitoring the situation, an official told CBS News.