Louisiana Domestic Violence Rampage Leaves Eight Children Dead in Shreveport

A 31-year-old man shot and killed eight children — seven of his own and a cousin — during a domestic violence rampage in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Sunday, April 19, 2026, in what authorities described as one of the deadliest mass shootings involving children in recent American history. The suspect, Shamar Elkins, opened fire at a home on West 79th Street in the early morning hours, killing children ranging in age from 3 to 11. Two women, including Elkins' wife Shaneiqua Pugh and his girlfriend, were shot and seriously wounded. Elkins died after a police chase and exchange of gunfire, though investigators have not yet determined whether he was killed by officers or took his own life.

63-Minute Crime Spree — April 19, 2026: — ; — ; — ; — ; — ; —

The violence unfolded across multiple locations over 63 minutes, according to the Shreveport Police Department. The first emergency call came in at 5:55 a.m. from a woman who had climbed onto the roof of the West 79th Street home to escape the gunman inside. A 13-year-old boy also jumped from the roof and sustained broken bones. Six minutes later, at 6:01 a.m., officers arrived to find the woman in the yard. At 6:07 a.m., a second call came from a woman on Harrison Street, a few blocks away, who reported that her boyfriend — later identified as Elkins — had shot her, taken her three children, and fled. Police connected the two scenes quickly. Elkins then carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint near the intersection of Linwood Avenue and West 79th Street before leading officers on a chase into Bossier City, roughly 15 miles away, where the confrontation ended at 7:03 a.m. The three children taken from the Harrison Street home were later found safe.

Eight victims named, ages 3 to 11 The Caddo Parish Coroner's Office identified the eight children killed as Jayla Elkins, age 3; Shayla Elkins, age 5; Kayla Pugh, age 6; Layla Pugh, age 7; Markaydon Pugh, age 10; Sariahh Snow, age 11; Khedarrion Snow, age 6; and Braylon Snow, age 5. Among the victims were three boys and five girls. Shaneiqua Pugh, Elkins' wife, remained in critical condition on Monday, undergoing multiple surgeries after being shot several times in the face and abdomen, according to her aunt. The girlfriend, the second wounded woman, also remained hospitalized. Elkins had a prior felony conviction from 2019 for illegal use of a firearm, which should have legally barred him from possessing a weapon. Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said investigators were working to determine how Elkins obtained the firearm, which he described as an "assault-style" pistol. 8 (children killed) — Victims aged 3 to 11, seven Elkins' own children

„All evidence and indications are that this erupted as a domestic dispute. The chances are good that this was not the first time.” — Wayne Smith via Reuters

Warning signs went unheeded years before the attack Accounts from people close to Elkins suggested warning signs had existed for years before the shooting. Betty Walker, a woman who raised Elkins as her own son, recalled a conversation roughly three years earlier in which Elkins threatened to kill his wife, his children, and himself if Shaneiqua Pugh tried to leave him. According to Walker, Pugh had dismissed the threat as a joke. Family members told the New York Times that Elkins had been under emotional strain in the period leading up to the shooting, speaking openly about the prospect of divorce and describing being overwhelmed by negative thoughts. His stepfather said he had tried to reassure Elkins, but that Elkins told him some people cannot overcome their inner struggles. Police were also aware that Elkins had been going through a divorce and was due in court on Monday, the day after the shooting. Gun Violence Archive data, cited by Reuters, listed at least 119 mass shootings in the United States so far in 2026 — not including the Shreveport incident — resulting in 117 deaths, including 79 children, and 458 people injured.

„The most heartbreaking tragedies that we have ever witnessed.” — Henry Whitehorn Sr. via The Wall Street Journal

Community in shock, domestic violence centre opened days earlier The killings shook Shreveport, a city in northwestern Louisiana, with residents leaving stuffed animals and balloons near the site of the shooting and pastors working to comfort a community in grief. Officials noted a grim coincidence: the Caddo Parish Sheriff's office had opened a new domestic violence unit just 10 days before the attack, designed to provide victims with help and legal support. Caddo Parish Sheriff Henry Whitehorn Sr. said he could not have imagined that days after that opening, the community would face such a tragedy. Both the city and the parish had recorded a recent rise in domestic violence cases, officials said. Smith said at Monday's news conference that the killings would be recorded as one of the worst days in Shreveport's history. Al Jazeera reported that the eight children's deaths more than doubled the number of homicides recorded in Shreveport and Caddo Parish for the entire year to that point, according to the coroner's office.

„This will go down in history as one of the worst days in Shreveport.” — Wayne Smith via The New York Times