Louisiana Father Kills His 7 Kids in One of the Nation’s Deadliest Mass Shootings in Over 2 Years
In a tragedy described as the most devastating event in the history of Shreveport, Louisiana, a dad killed eight children in a mass shooting Sunday.
Black News 
The sun had not yet risen over Shreveport, Louisiana, when in a matter of minutes a domestic dispute spiraled into a nightmare that would claim the lives of eight children, the youngest only three years old. The tragedy is being described by local officials as the most devastating event in the city’s history.
Behind the yellow tape, a picture of a fractured family began to emerge as the mass shooting suspect, identified by the Shreveport Police Department as Shamar Elkins, was in the middle of a volatile divorce, according to a family friend KOMU 8 reported.
Things came to a devastating end early Sunday (April 19) morning, when SPD said Elkins killed eight kids—seven of his own— and wounded two others during his murderous rampage.
Authorities said the attacks began before sunrise when Elkins— who had been known to police, was arrested in 2019 in a firearms case and for DWI in 2016— shot his wife of two years, Shaneiqua Pugh, at a residence on Harrison Street. His killing spree continued when police said he drove to another home on West 79th Street “where this heinous act was carried out.”
It was at that second location police said Elkins killed his seven children, another child and shot a second adult woman, according to CNN. SPD spokesperson Chris Bordelon said one child was found dead on the roof after apparently trying to escape, and others tried escaping through a back door.
The Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office identified the victims, including the youngest, Jayla Elkins, who was just 3 years old. The other children killed are Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5, CNN reported.
Elkins, 31, shared four children with Pugh, 34, and three children with another woman who lived close by and who was also shot. Pugh has “very serious injuries,” Bordelon told KSLA. The other unnamed woman has “life-threatening injuries.”
A 13-year-old boy who jumped off the building’s roof has “some broken bones” but is expected to recover, Bordelon said. While doctors fought to stabilize the survivors in a nearby trauma center, surrounding parishes was shattered by the roar of a car engine and the flash of police sirens when Elkins evaded police.
Armed with a rifle, Elkins carjacked a vehicle and led authorities on a high speed chase, according to KOMU 8. He was shot and killed by police. The massacre at the hands of a father has become the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. since eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb in January 2024, according to the Associated Press.
The gunman’s mother and stepfather told The New York Times Sunday how Elkins had been stressed after Pugh asked for a divorce. The couple said Elkins was drowning in “dark thoughts,” despite them offering help and encouragement.
“I told him, ‘You can beat stuff, man. I don’t care what you’re going through, you can beat it,’” Elkins’ stepfather, Marcus Jackson, recalled. “Then I remember him telling me: ‘Some people don’t come back from their demons.’”
On April 5, CNN reported Elkins posted on Facebook a photo of himself on Easter Sunday after he attended church with all of his children for the first time. Days later, he reposted a prayer, asking God “to help me guard my mind and my emotions.”
