Police identified the suspect as Shamar Elkins, who fatally shot seven of his children and another child.
A gunman killed eight children, including seven of his own, and critically injured two other women in a shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana, Sunday morning.
Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Christopher Bordelon identified the suspect as Shamar Elkins, a 31-year-old who had previous firearms offenses but no violent criminal history.
The deceased victims range in age from 1 to approximately 12 years old, the Shreveport Police Department said.
Police said seven of the children killed were Elkins’s children and one of the women injured was the mother of his children.
The two women are being treated for serious injuries, while another teenager is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries sustained during the shooting, according to a statement from the police.
The victims were “killed inside a residence located in the 300 block of West 79th Street during a violent domestic incident,” the statement said.
“This is a very large scene with four specific locations that we are currently addressing,” Bordelon told reporters during a news conference.
Three of the four locations were residences.
Police are investigating the crime as a domestic disturbance and have not revealed a motive behind the shooting.
According to police, Elkins fled the scene, carjacked a vehicle, and was eventually shot and killed by police during a chase.
“Shreveport police patrol officers got behind that vehicle and they chased it,” Bordelon said.
“The vehicle was chased into Bossier Parish, and at which point in time, Shreveport police officers did discharge their firearm, and that individual is deceased.”
Police believe that only one suspect was involved in the crime.
“This is a very large scene of multiple deceased children present, so we’re going to ask for patience and us getting information out, and we’ll release the name of the suspect that is deceased when we have made the proper notifications,” Bordelon said. He noted that he has never seen anything like this during his career.
The names of the victims could be released by the coroner as soon as April 20, police said.
Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said he was at a loss for words while speaking to reporters about the tragedy.
By Jacki Thrapp
