Shamar Elkins ID’d as Shreveport shooting suspect after eight children aged 1 to 14 gunned down in ‘domestic’ attackhttps://www.facebook.com/EastTexasBanner/photos/️breaking-shamar-elkins-identified-as-suspect-in-shreveport-mass-shooting-that-l/1528758099258743/ (Image: Facebook)
The suspect behind a shooting that claimed the lives of eight children has been identified locally.
Shamar Elkins, 31, stands accused of murdering eight children aged between one and 14 in what has become the deadliest mass shooting in the United States in more than two years.
Police informed KSLA that Elkins is believed to be the father of some of the victims. A total of 10 people were shot, with two women surviving the horrific ordeal. One of the female victims is reported to be fighting for her life after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head.
The tragedy unfolded on Sunday morning when the gunman approached a property in Shreveport, where the devastating massacre is said to have taken place.
Officers revealed that Elkins subsequently drove to Harrison Street, approximately a quarter of a mile away, following a carjacking that prompted police to pursue him in a high-speed chase. He then proceeded to a third location, where he was shot and killed by officers.
Council woman Tabatha Taylor, right, hugs an unknown person outside the scene of a mass shooting in Shreveport, La., Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Image: AP)
Liza Demming, who resides two houses from one of the attack scenes, revealed that her security camera captured footage of the suspect fleeing, along with the sound of two gunshots.
“That’s pretty much all I saw, was him running out of the house and the cars leaving,” she said.
Ms Demming later ventured outside to discover the covered body of a child on the roof of the property. She stated she did not know the gunman by name.
Scene where eight children are dead in what police believe was a domestic shooting in the 300 block of West 79th Street in Shreveport, La. on Sunday, April 19, 2026. (Image: Henrietta Wildsmith / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
“He looks like the dad that comes over here,” she said, adding that he was just with the children a few days ago. Officers and residents alike are coming to terms with the shooting, the deadliest in the US since eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb in January 2024, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
The suspect died following a pursuit with officers who opened fire, said Chris Bordelon, spokesperson for the Shreveport Police Department. Mr Bordelon spoke of the harrowing scenes that greeted officers upon their arrival.
“This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” he said.
Officials appeared visibly shaken in the wake of the shooting. At a press conference held outside the property where one of the shootings took place, they appealed for patience and prayers from the local community as they worked through multiple crime scenes.
“I just don’t know what to say, my heart is just taken aback,” Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said. “I cannot begin to imagine how such an event could occur.
Police work outside a house in Shreveport, La., that is one of the locations tied to a mass shooting Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Image: AP)
“This is a tragic situation – maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had,” said Tom Arceneaux, mayor of the city in north-western Louisiana with about 180,000 residents. “It’s a terrible morning.”
Louisiana State Police confirmed their detectives had been called upon by Shreveport police to lead the investigation. In an official statement, state police confirmed that no officers sustained injuries during the shooting, which followed a police pursuit into Bossier City on Sunday morning. State police are urging anyone with photographs, footage or relevant information to come forward and share it with detectives.
People are consoled outside the scene of a mass shooting, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Shreveport, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Image: AP)
Louisiana governor Jeff Landry and US House Speaker Mike Johnson, who hails from Shreveport, both issued separate statements expressing their devastation and commending law enforcement for their swift response.
“We’re holding the victims, their families and loved ones, and our Shreveport community close in our thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time,” Mr Johnson said in a statement.
