The Louisiana community is mourning the loss of 8 children who were victims of a mass shooting in Shreveport on Sunday, April 19, 2026.
On Sunday morning, a tragic mass shooting incident shocked the Shreveport community when a gunman opened fire, killing eight children, ages 3 to 11.
The latest incident marks the deadliest mass shooting in a period of more than two years.
Louisiana police identified the gunman as Shamar Elkins, 31, who shot and killed his seven children and a cousin.
Two women, including his wife, were also injured in the shooting before first dawn, in a rampage that occurred in at least two places.
After the shooting, which officials described as “homicide in nature,” the gunman fled the scene in a stolen vehicle.
As a result of a police chase, officers shot and killed the suspect in crossfire.
The Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office has confirmed the identities of the victims.
These include Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5 years old; Kayla Pugh, 6 years old; Layla Pugh, 7 years old; Markaydon Pugh, 10 years old; Sariah Nieves, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5.
Who was the gunman?
Shamar Elkins spent seven years in the Louisiana Army National Guard. From August 2013 to August 2020, as a signal support systems expert and fire support specialist, according to CNN.
Elkins was never deployed and was discharged from the military in 2020, and his rank at the time of his discharge was EI (private).
The outlet also reported on Elkins’ criminal history, as he had two prior criminal convictions in Caddo District Court.
According to court records, Elkins married Shaneiqua Pugh, 34, about two years ago.
according to NYTElkins had a troubled home life and a strained relationship with his wife.
In a separate report from APwhich highlighted that the couple was in the middle of a separation and had a heated argument moments before the shooting.
The shooting is considered the deadliest in the United States since January 2024, when a 23-year-old man shot eight people, most of them his relatives, in a Chicago suburb.
