Eight Children Killed In Shreveport Domestic Violence Shooting, Suspect Dies After Police Pursuit
Eight children were killed and two adults wounded in a mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana, police said.
Police said the shootings began during a domestic disturbance at a home in Shreveport and left eight children dead and two adults wounded, with a total of 10 people shot. Victims ranged in age from about 1 to 14, and police said some of the slain children were related to the suspect. The suspect fled, carjacked a vehicle roughly half a block from the scene, and was fatally shot by officers after a pursuit that continued into Bossier City.
Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith, Corporal Chris Bordelon and Mayor Tom Arceneaux briefed the public, and Louisiana State Police detectives were asked to investigate the officer-involved shooting. Officials said no officers were injured and the Caddo Parish coroner has not yet released victim names as identifications were pending. Authorities asked the public to submit photos and video, and news outlets streamed live briefings on social platforms as neighbors shared eyewitness accounts and footage online. A neighbor said she saw a child's body on a roof, and a state representative said some children tried to flee through a back door.
Initial national headlines reported eight children killed in Louisiana, while later reporting and a police press conference narrowed the location to Shreveport and framed the episode as domestic violence. Outlets such as The New York Times, NPR, PBS and The Wall Street Journal added detail about multiple scenes and the victims' age range. They and local reporting said the suspect carjacked a vehicle while fleeing and that some victims were his descendants, deepening the domestic-violence frame. Database tracking mass shootings identified this as the deadliest U.S. mass shooting since an eight-fatality attack in a Chicago suburb in January 2024.
📌 Key Facts
- The shooting took place in Shreveport, Louisiana, and police have characterized it as a domestic dispute/domestic-violence incident.
- Authorities say 10 people were shot in the incident; eight of the victims were children who died, with ages reported around 1 to 14 years old.
- Officials described the crime scene as spanning three locations in the city: two residences on the same block and a third location elsewhere in the neighborhood.
- Police say the attack began at one home where a woman was shot, then moved to a second residence on the block where most of the children were killed.
- Some of the slain children were related to the suspect; witnesses and officials said some children tried to escape (including reports of a child’s body seen on a roof) and a neighbor captured video of the suspect running.
- After fleeing the scene the adult male suspect reportedly carjacked a vehicle about half a block away, led officers on a pursuit into Bossier City, and was fatally shot by police; no officers were injured.
- Louisiana State Police detectives have been asked to investigate the officer-involved shooting, and authorities requested that the public submit photos or video to investigators.
- Officials (including Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith, Cpl. Christopher Bordelon and Mayor Tom Arceneaux) held a press briefing; the mayor called it possibly the worst tragedy the city (about 180,000 residents) has experienced.
- The Caddo Parish coroner had not released victims’ names as identifications were pending; news databases noted this was the deadliest U.S. mass shooting since an eight-fatality incident in a Chicago suburb in January 2024.
📰 Source Timeline (10)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Confirms attack began at one home where a woman was shot, then moved to a second home where most children were killed.
- Adds witness account from neighbor Liza Demming, whose camera captured the suspect running and who saw a child's body on the roof.
- Provides detail that some children tried to escape out a back door, according to State Rep. Tammy Phelps.
- Clarifies that the Caddo Parish Coroner has not yet released victims' names as identifications are pending.
- Specifies that Louisiana State Police detectives were asked to investigate the officer-involved shooting in Bossier City and that no officers were injured.
- Notes this is the deadliest U.S. mass shooting since an eight-fatality incident in a Chicago suburb in January 2024, per an AP/USA Today/Northeastern database.
- CBS carried a live briefing where Louisiana officials publicly confirmed that eight victims were children and teens.
- Officials again emphasized that police view the incident as domestic in nature.
- 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.