NEW YORK, Apr 20 — A gunman killed eight children, aged between one and 14, in a mass shooting yesterday at a house in Shreveport, Louisiana, in what authorities described as a domestic violence incident before police fatally shot him following a vehicle chase.
The bodies of seven children were found inside the house, while the eighth was shot while attempting to escape via the rooftop, Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Christopher Bordelon told local television station KTBS. Police said the suspect had children who lived at the home.
Preliminary information indicated the events began when the suspect shot a woman before going a few blocks away to the home where the children lived, according to a Facebook post from the Shreveport police.
Bordelon described the scene as “incredibly gruesome” in remarks to KTBS.
Police have identified the suspect as Shamar Elkins, Leigh Anne Evensky, director of communications for the Shreveport mayor’s office, told Reuters.
The incident occurred after 6 am on Sunday, Bordelon told reporters. At least 10 people were shot, he said, but did not provide details on the condition of surviving victims.
The suspect carjacked a vehicle after the shootings and was killed when police fired at it during a chase that extended into neighbouring Bossier Parish, Bordelon said. Louisiana State Police are investigating the officer-involved shooting, spokesperson Kate Stegall said.
“This is a tragic situation, maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had,” Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said.
A comprehensive domestic violence centre is being established by the Caddo Parish sheriff, with support from the mayor’s office, Arceneaux later told Reuters.
At a news conference, Louisiana state Senator Sam Jenkins, whose district includes much of Shreveport, said the shooting underscores the need for more resources to combat domestic violence.
“If we have someone with a history of domestic violence, let’s make sure those resources and that intervention are in place on a continuous and consistent basis, hopefully to avoid what we’ve seen here today,” Jenkins said.
Reuters was unable to immediately determine whether Elkins had such a history.
US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, a Shreveport native, described the shooting as a “heartbreaking tragedy” on social media. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said he and his wife were “praying for everyone affected”.
Excluding this incident in Shreveport, the Gun Violence Archive lists at least 119 mass shootings in the United States this year, resulting in 117 deaths, including 79 children, and 458 people injured.
The archive defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people, excluding the shooter, are injured or killed by gunfire. The United States recorded 407 mass shootings last year, according to the archive’s data.
