Shreveport Mass Killing Of Eight Children Leaves Preschool Classroom Grieving
A man in Shreveport, Louisiana killed eight children in a mass shooting linked to a domestic dispute on Sunday. Police identified the suspect as Shamar Elkins and said the victims ranged in age from about 1 to 14. Officials say 10 people were shot in all, including two women and one child who survived. Police say seven of the slain children were the suspect's own and that he began by shooting a woman at one home before moving to others on the block. Authorities say Elkins used an assault-style weapon despite a 2019 felony gun conviction that should have barred him from owning firearms. He was killed after a vehicle pursuit that ended in neighboring Bossier City while Louisiana State Police investigate the officer-involved shooting.
The killings shattered a neighborhood and left local schools and a preschool classroom reeling. Teachers at Johnnie L. Cochran Head Start mourned 5-year-old Braylon Snow. They said he had been learning to write his name and was preparing for graduation. Neighbors described chaos and captured footage of the suspect running. One witness said she saw a child's covered body on a roof. Relatives said some people escaped by jumping from a roof during the attack. The mayor called it perhaps the worst tragedy the city has faced. Officials asked the public to share photos or video to aid the probe. Databases show this is the deadliest U.S. mass shooting since January 2024.
Early reports largely emphasized victim counts and the immediate police response, describing multiple shooting scenes and the ensuing pursuit. As reporting progressed, outlets such as The New York Times and NPR dug deeper into the domestic-violence context, documenting that Elkins had repeatedly threatened violence, had prior arrests and a 2019 felony weapons conviction, and that many victims were family members. That shift reframes the episode from a counted mass shooting to a familicide rooted in intimate-partner and domestic violence, and it spotlights gaps in systems meant to respond to threats and enforce gun prohibitions.
Mass Shootings in the U.S.
Louisiana Crime and Public Safety
Crime and Public Safety
Gun Violence in the U.S.
Gun Violence and Public Safety
This story is compiled from 23 sources using AI-assisted curation and analysis. Original reporting is attributed below. Learn about our methodology.
📌 Key Facts
- The shootings occurred in Shreveport, Louisiana, across multiple linked locations (police said the crime scene spanned three sites, including two homes on the same block and a third in the neighborhood) and unfolded over roughly an hour on Sunday morning.
- Authorities say 10 people were shot in the incident; eight victims were children or teens and the reported age range spanned roughly 1 to 14 years (officials later identified three boys and five girls aged about 3–11), while two women and one child survived.
- Police identified the suspect as Shamar Elkins, an adult male who investigators say opened fire during what they have described as a domestic disturbance; authorities said seven of the eight children killed were his own and one was a nephew.
- After the attacks Elkins allegedly carjacked a vehicle while fleeing, led officers on a pursuit into Bossier City, and died in a subsequent exchange of gunfire with police (officials have said it is not yet clear whether he was killed by officers or died of a self-inflicted wound); no officers were injured.
- Officials and local outlets characterized the killings as domestic-violence–related and at times "execution-style," reporting that some children were shot as they tried to escape through a window and that the attack began with a woman shot at one home before moving to another where most children were killed.
- Law-enforcement accounts say Elkins used an assault-style weapon despite a 2019 felony gun conviction that should have prohibited firearm possession; reporting reconstructs prior arrests, threats, and warning signs that did not lead to sustained intervention.
- Louisiana State Police detectives have been asked to investigate the officer-involved shooting; authorities held multiple press briefings, solicited photos and video from the public, and local leaders called the event one of the community's most heartbreaking tragedies.
- The massacre has left the community and schools grieving—preschool classrooms were deeply affected (including the death of 5-year-old Braylon Snow, a Head Start student), prompting personal remembrances and renewed attention from experts on domestic violence, gun access, and gaps in prevention and enforcement.
📰 Source Timeline (23)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
April 21, 2026
3:13 AM
A preschool classroom is shaken by loss after a mass killing in Louisiana
New information:
- Names one of the child victims as 5-year-old Braylon Snow and describes him as one of seven siblings killed along with a cousin.
- Details Braylon's daily life at Johnnie L. Cochran Head Start, including that he had just learned to write his first and last name and was preparing for Head Start graduation.
- Provides on-the-record emotional account from his teacher Angela Hall about how the class noticed his absence and her struggle to address the loss with preschoolers.
- States that Shreveport schools were "limping through the day" after what is described as the deadliest U.S. mass shooting in more than two years.
12:20 AM
Louisiana Killer’s Threats to Himself and Others Hinted at Future Violence
New information:
- Details that Shamar Elkins repeatedly threatened violence against others and himself in the years before the Shreveport killings, including talking about killing his family and dying by police fire.
- Family members and acquaintances had reported or raised alarm about his threats and erratic behavior, but there was no sustained, effective intervention.
- The piece reconstructs a timeline of law enforcement and social-system contacts, showing prior arrests, a 2019 felony gun conviction, and other red flags that did not prevent him from accessing a firearm.
- Sources describe specific incidents in which Elkins allegedly pointed guns, voiced suicidal ideation, or talked about wanting to "go out" violently.
- Experts quoted in the article tie these missed warning signs to broader gaps in U.S. systems for responding to threats and domestic violence, including red-flag laws and enforcement of existing gun prohibitions.
April 20, 2026
11:46 PM
Dad who lost son in Louisiana shooting: "I'm never gonna get to throw the football with him again"
New information:
- CBS aired an interview with a father who lost his son in the Louisiana shooting, highlighting his statement that he will never throw a football with his son again.
- Police reiterated that the gunman was targeting his own family when he opened fire, consistent with earlier domestic-violence framing.
- The CBS piece foregrounds personal victim-impact storytelling rather than new investigative or procedural developments.
10:35 PM
Killing of 8 children in Louisiana renews focus on domestic violence involving guns
New information:
- PBS segment explicitly frames the Shreveport killings as a domestic-violence case involving firearms, stressing the link between intimate-partner/family violence and gun access.
- Interview guest April Zeoli is brought in as a subject-matter expert to discuss patterns in domestic shootings, known risk factors, and prevention tools such as protective-order firearm removal (not fully detailed in the brief text, but implied by her expertise).
- The piece emphasizes that the shooter was reportedly the father of seven of the eight children he killed, using that to illustrate dynamics of familicide and domestic gun violence.
8:57 PM
An Hour of Chaos: How the Louisiana Shooting Unfolded
New information:
- Wall Street Journal pins the active law-enforcement response window at 63 minutes on Sunday morning.
- Article confirms multiple linked incidents during that hour, including at least two shootings, a reported kidnapping, a carjacking and an armed suspect chase.
- Caddo Parish Sheriff Henry Whitehorn Sr. is quoted calling it one of the most heartbreaking tragedies the area has ever witnessed.
6:34 PM
Louisiana community is struggling to understand after man killed 8 children
New information:
- Police say the shooter, identified as Shamar Elkins, used an assault-style weapon despite a 2019 felony conviction for illegal use of weapons that should have barred him from possessing guns for at least 10 years.
- Family members identify the wife as Shaneiqua Elkins and say the couple were separating and due in court the next day after arguments over the separation.
- Relatives describe the wife's sister escaping with a child by jumping from the roof and calling police minutes after the attack began.
- Officials specify the ages and sex of the victims as three boys and five girls ranging from 3 to 11 years old, and note that Elkins' nephew was among the dead.
- Louisiana National Guard confirms Elkins served from 2013 to 2020 as a signal support system specialist and fire support specialist with no deployments, holding the rank of private.
- Police say it remains unclear whether Elkins died from police gunfire or a self-inflicted shot after a vehicle pursuit.
4:55 PM
Louisiana officials give update on mass shooting that left 8 children dead
New information:
- Louisiana officials said at a Monday press conference that two women and one child survived the Sunday shooting.
- Authorities publicly confirmed the survival count alongside the already reported eight child fatalities.
4:32 PM
Shreveport, La., Shooting: What We Know About the Killing of 8 Children
New information:
- New York Times provides a structured, timeline-based reconstruction of the shootings, clarifying the sequence of attacks across the three locations.
- Article adds more detailed biographical and family context on several of the child victims and the adult women, including relationships and ages.
- Piece includes expanded description of prior contacts between the suspect and law enforcement and what neighbors and relatives report about warning signs and domestic tensions.
- NYT refines the timeline of the initial domestic incident, the subsequent attacks on children, and the police pursuit and final confrontation in Bossier City.
2:43 PM
Neighbors recall "full-blown shootout" as father targeted kids in shooting
New information:
- Neighbors Jacob and Tiffany Castleman describe hearing sirens, a barrage of gunfire and what they call a 'full-blown shootout' behind their home during the police confrontation with suspect Shamar Elkins.
- Neighbor Liza Demming says her security camera captured the gunman running from the house and two shots, and she later saw a child's covered body on the roof.
- Daycare owner Lashuan Berry, who knew the family, characterizes Elkins as having 'no soul' and 'dead behind the eyes,' while another neighbor, Fred Montgomery, says the family life had appeared normal the night before.
- A relative tells AP that Elkins and his wife had been arguing over their separation ahead of a Monday court appearance, offering more detail on the domestic dispute context.
- Police reiterate that Elkins first shot one woman in the face around 5 a.m., then went to another residence where he shot the eight children and a second woman, targeting victims as they tried to escape through a window.
1:57 PM
Man killed 8 children in "execution-style" shooting, police says
New information:
- CBS segment explicitly notes that suspect Shamar Elkins served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from 2013 to 2020.
- The piece reiterates that officials characterize the shootings as beginning as a domestic dispute before becoming a mass shooting.
1:12 PM
8 children killed in tragic mass shooting linked to domestic dispute
New information:
- Police publicly described the Shreveport killings as an 'execution-style' mass shooting.
- CBS segment reinforces that eight victims were children and that the shootings are being framed as a domestic dispute.
- Law-enforcement commentary on national TV underscores the case as a particularly extreme example of domestic mass violence.
12:22 PM
Man kills 8 children, including 7 of his own, in Louisiana mass shooting, police say
New information:
- Police publicly identified the suspect as Shamar Elkins.
- Investigators said seven of the eight slain children were Elkins' own kids, clarifying prior general family-relationship descriptions.
- CBS framed the suspect's death explicitly as occurring in an exchange of gunfire with officers after the incident.
10:30 AM
U.S. seizes Iranian cargo ship. And, tariff refund portal launches
New information:
- NPR reiterates Shreveport police’s account that a gunman killed eight children and wounded two women in northwest Louisiana in a domestic disturbance.
- The newsletter notes that police believe the adult male suspect was the father of seven of the children killed and that one of the women shot was his wife and the mother of seven of the children.
- NPR confirms again that the suspect is dead, aligning with earlier reports of his death after a police pursuit.
April 19, 2026
9:16 PM
8 children killed in Louisiana shooting, police say
New information:
- 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.
8:24 PM
Louisiana officials speak after 8 children and teens killed in shooting
New information:
- 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.
6:00 PM
Eight Children Killed in Louisiana Shooting
New information:
- 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.
5:56 PM
Police give early update on Shreveport, Louisiana mass shooting
New information:
- 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.
5:33 PM
8 children dead in mass shooting that began as domestic dispute, police say
New information:
- 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.
5:26 PM
Eight children killed in a shooting in Louisiana, police say
New information:
- 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.
4:41 PM
8 children killed in mass shooting in Louisiana, police say
New information:
- 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.
4:19 PM
8 Children Killed in Louisiana Domestic Violence Shooting, Police Say
New information:
- 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.
4:10 PM
Police say 8 children killed in Louisiana mass shooting
New information:
- 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.