1 month ago
Louisiana authorities person identified 8 children – aged 3 to 11 – who were killed Sunday during what constabulary described arsenic a “violent home incident” successful Shreveport that marked nan deadliest US wide shooting successful much than 2 years.
The Caddo parish coroner’s agency identified nan children arsenic 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 gunman, identified arsenic 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, fatally changeable nan children – including 7 of his ain – astatine 2 abstracted Shreveport houses. Police changeable him to decease aft chasing him successful a car that he stole, according to investigators.
A full of 11 group were changeable during Sunday’s violence, constabulary spokesperson Christopher Bordelon said successful a news conference.
The 2 women who were injured included Shaneiqua Pugh, nan gunman’s woman and mother of 4 of his children. The different wounded female reportedly was nan mother of Elkins’s 3 different children.
Both injured women were listed successful captious condition.
Bordelon told nan Associated Press connected Sunday evening that Elkins changeable nan mother first and past killed 8 children. Elkins and Pugh had reportedly been arguing astir their separation, complete which they were owed successful tribunal connected Monday.
Bordelon said location was still overmuch to analyse – but detectives were assured nan shooting was “entirely a domestic” case.
The Louisiana authorities constabulary by Monday had taken complete nan officers’ sidesplitting of Shamar Elkins, saying, “One taxable was changeable and has been pronounced dead. No officers were harmed during nan incident.”
Police person said Elkins had been arrested successful 2019 successful a firearms lawsuit – but they were unaware of immoderate anterior home unit issues.
Wayne Smith, nan Shreveport constabulary chief, said he was “taken aback” by nan deadly shooting, adding that his members of his agency were retired successful nan organization processing nan scene. Smith said officers would activity diligently for “however agelong it takes” to find retired what happened.
“My bosom is conscionable taken aback,” Smith said astatine a property convention astir nan wide sidesplitting successful his city. “I conscionable cannot statesman to ideate really specified an arena tin occur.”
Tom Arceneaux, nan Shreveport mayor, meantime described nan killings arsenic “maybe nan worst tragic business we’ve … had” successful caller memory.
Sunday’s killings successful Shreveport correspond nan deadliest US wide shooting since January 2024, erstwhile an attacker changeable and killed 8 group successful a suburb of Chicago, according to a USA TODAY and Associated Press database.
Elkins, nan gunman, is reported to person been struggling pinch intelligence wellness problems – but constabulary person not offered a motive. The US service said that Elkins served successful nan Louisiana service nationalist defender from 2013 to 2020 arsenic a awesome support strategy master and a occurrence support specialist. He later worked for nan UPS transportation service.
Relatives of nan gunman person described Elkins arsenic stressed astir his narration pinch his wife, Shaneiqua Pugh. The New York Times reported that he called his mother and stepfather connected 5 April – Easter Sunday – and told them done tears that he wanted to return his ain life.
He purportedly told his stepfather Marcus Jackson his woman wanted a divorcement – and that he was having “dark thoughts”.
“I told him, ‘You tin hit stuff, man. I don’t attraction what you’re going through, you tin hit it,’” Jackson said. “Then I retrieve him telling me: ‘Some group don’t travel backmost from their demons.’”
His mother, Mahelia Elkins, told nan outlet that she did not cognize what problems her boy was having pinch his wife.
Mahelia Elkins disclosed that she had her boy erstwhile she was a teen and addicted to ace cocaine – and he had been raised by Betty Walker, a family friend.
Walker, who did not witnesser nan shootings, told nan Times that Elkins changeable his woman respective times, including successful nan caput and successful nan stomach.
Both said they had precocious felt uneasy astir their son. But he had shared a dream connected Facebook – “Dear God, coming I inquire you to thief maine defender my mind and my emotions” – and sent them a photograph of his family.
His mother told nan Times that she had texted him nan erstwhile week to inquire really they were. He responded: “Everyone is doing OK.” But erstwhile she texted connected Thursday to nonstop her emotion to her grandchildren, she received nary consequence back.
Jackson said nan first denotation he received that thing bad had happened was connected Sunday erstwhile strangers posted connected his Facebook that Elkins was “the devil”.
Elkins’ anterior brushes pinch nan rule included an apprehension for allegedly driving while inebriated successful 2016 – and successful 2019, he allegedly pulled a handgun retired of his waistband and changeable astatine a conveyance 5 times aft nan driver of nan car had pulled a weapon connected him.
Court records show Elkins pleaded blameworthy successful October of 2019 to forbidden usage of weapons aliases vulnerable instrumentalities.
Willie Vasher, a workfellow of Elkins’ astatine UPS, told nan Times that Elkins presented arsenic if he were a devoted begetter – but he often appeared stressed and would propulsion his hairsbreadth out, causing a bald spot.
Separately, successful a speech pinch nan Washington Post, Elkins’s brother-in-law, Troy Brown, who lived pinch him, said Elkins acted usually nan past clip they saw each different connected Saturday. But Brown told nan Post that Elkins had been distraught successful a caller speech astir his woman precocious seeking a divorce.
“After nan first statement astir nan divorce, he acted for illustration he was losing his mind,” Brown said to nan Post aft reportedly leaving a Shreveport infirmary wherever he had visited Elkins’s wife. “He was upset astir it. I would talk to him and he would show me, ‘Bro, I don’t want to suffer my wife.’”
Aspects of Sunday’s wide sidesplitting successful Shreveport fresh nan meaning of a type of crime known since nan 1980s arsenic a family annihilation.
Most of those cases impact a antheral slayer equipped pinch a weapon who yet kills himself aliases is killed aft sidesplitting aggregate adjacent family members. American communities person historically tended to position family annihilations arsenic isolated tragedies. But a July 2023 Indianapolis Star investigation recovered they had been occurring crossed nan US each 5 days connected mean astatine nan time.
Sunday’s bloodshed successful Shreveport was nan seventh wide sidesplitting successful nan US truthful acold successful 2026, according to nan Gun Violence Archive. The archive – a non-partisan reference assets – defines wide killings arsenic cases successful which 4 aliases much victims are killed.
Furthermore, arsenic of Monday, location had been astatine slightest 114 wide shootings reported crossed nan US truthful acold for nan year, according to nan archive.
The archive defines wide shootings arsenic cases successful which 4 aliases much victims are changeable aliases killed.
Meanwhile, Louisiana mostly ranks lowly among US states pinch respect to intelligence wellness attraction access. A 2024 report from nan state’s section of wellness highlighted friendly partner unit arsenic a “significant nationalist wellness interest successful nan state”.
And nan National Domestic Violence Hotline’s website notes that “leaving is often nan astir vulnerable play of time” successful position of nan imaginable for friendly partner violence.
Perennially high rates of wide shootings successful nan US person prompted calls from galore successful nan state for much important weapon control. But Congress complete nan years has been incapable aliases unwilling to heed specified calls, pinch lawmakers who support keeping firearms arsenic accessible arsenic imaginable often responding to deadly wide shootings pinch offered prayers alternatively than pinch legislative action.
Gabrielle Giffords, a erstwhile Democratic congresswoman from Arizona who survived a 2011 assassination effort and is simply a weapon unit prevention advocate, said successful a connection Sunday: “All of america should beryllium outraged that we unrecorded successful a state that routinely subjects our kids to specified unimaginable violence.
“Our leaders must enactment – now.”
