Eight Children Killed In Shreveport Domestic Violence Shooting, Suspect Killed After Police Chase
Eight children were killed and two adults wounded in a Shreveport, Louisiana, mass shooting that began as a domestic dispute, police say. Police said the attack unfolded at multiple locations in one neighborhood, including two homes on the same block and a third nearby. Officials identified the victims as ranging in age from about 1 to 14, and they said some of the children were related to the suspect. Police estimate a total of 10 people were shot in the incident.
After the shooting the suspect carjacked a vehicle about a half block away and led officers on a pursuit that continued into neighboring Bossier City. Officers fatally shot the suspect during the vehicle stop, and Louisiana State Police have been asked to investigate the officer-involved shooting. Officials said no officers were injured in the shootout.
Local officials held an afternoon news conference in which Police Chief Wayne Smith, Corporal Chris Bordelon and Mayor Tom Arceneaux briefed the public. Police asked the public to share photos and video to help investigators, and national outlets and social media amplified the officials' updates as the story developed. Early headlines described a mass shooting in Louisiana with limited specifics. Subsequent coverage by the New York Times, PBS, NPR and the Wall Street Journal added specific details. Those reports named Shreveport as the scene, described a domestic dispute, gave victim ages and reported a carjacking and officer-involved killing after the chase.
đ Key Facts
- The shooting occurred in Shreveport, Louisiana, and officials characterize it as a domestic-violence/domestic-disturbance incident.
- Police say a total of 10 people were shot; eight victims were children who were killed, with victims' ages reported about 1 to 14 years old.
- Some of the slain children were the suspect's descendants (i.e., related to the suspect).
- Authorities say the shootings took place at multiple locations across the neighborhood â described as three crime scenes, including two residences on the same block and a third site elsewhere nearby.
- According to police, the suspect opened fire, fled the scene, then carjacked a vehicle about a half-block away; a vehicle pursuit continued into Bossier City/Bossier Parish, where the suspect was fatally shot by officers.
- Louisiana State Police detectives have been asked to investigate the officer-involved shooting; officials report no officers were injured and asked the public to submit photos or video to detectives.
- Officials held a Sunday afternoon news conference with Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith, police spokesman/Corporal Chris Bordelon and Mayor Tom Arceneaux, who called the incident "maybe the worst tragic situation we've ever had."
đ° Source Timeline (8)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Wall Street Journal confirms the suspect carjacked a vehicle while fleeing before being killed by officers.
- Article explicitly characterizes the incident as taking place during a domestic dispute, consistent with but independently corroborating earlier police framing.
- Provides a succinct official description that the man 'opened fire' before fleeing, reinforcing the basic sequence of events.
- Confirms that officials held a Sunday afternoon press conference on the case.
- Identifies specific briefing participants: Corporal Chris Bordelon, Mayor Tom Arceneaux and Police Chief Wayne Smith.
- Reiterates that police are describing the incident as a domestic disturbance in which 10 people were shot and eight children died.
- Police spokesperson Chris Bordelon said the victims ranged in age from about 1 to 14 and confirmed a total of 10 people were shot, including two adults.
- Bordelon said the suspect stole a car at gunpoint about a half block from the original scene before the fatal police shootout in Bossier Parish.
- Mayor Tom Arceneaux called it 'maybe the worst tragic situation we've ever had' and noted Shreveport has about 180,000 residents.
- Louisiana State Police specified that no officers were injured in the shootout and asked the public to submit photos or video to detectives.
- NPR confirms the age range of the slain children as between 1 and 14 years old.
- Police spokesman Cpl. Christopher Bordelon says some of the children were the suspect's descendants.
- NPR explicitly describes the episode as stemming from a domestic disturbance and identifies the suspect as an adult male.
- NPR reiterates that Louisiana State Police are investigating the officer-involved shooting after the car chase.
- Confirms eight victims were children and teens and that the suspected shooter is also dead.
- Specifies that the shootings occurred at multiple locations, including two residences on the same block and a third elsewhere in the neighborhood.
- Reaffirms Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith as the official briefing source at a news conference.
- Confirms the shooting occurred in Shreveport, Louisiana, rather than only generically in the state.
- Characterizes the incident explicitly as a domestic violence shooting, aligning with police framing in more detail.
- Adds New York Times as an additional corroborating national outlet covering the same event.
- Police say a total of 10 people were shot in the incident, with eight children killed.
- Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said the crime scene extends across three locations in the city.
- The suspected shooter was fatally shot by police during a vehicle pursuit that continued into Bossier City.
- Victims range in age from about 1 to 14 years old, and some of the children were related to the suspect.
- Louisiana State Police detectives have been asked by Shreveport police to investigate the officer-involved shooting, and no officers were injured.