A domestic dispute turned into one of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States in years. In the early morning hours of April 19, 2026, 31-year-old Shamar Elkins reportedly opened fire on two different homes, each containing women that he was in a relationship with. At the second home, the woman wasn’t his only victim. Elkins proceeded to shoot and kill eight children although a ninth escaped. Most of the children killed called him Dad.
After killing his children, the man took off before being caught by police. The investigation is underway as police try to put together a motive.
Details about the shootings are still emerging.
The shooting took place shortly after 6 a.m. April 19, People reported. In total, 10 people were shot, and the eight juvenile victims were all declared dead. According to Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Christopher Bordelon, the crime scene was “very large” and spanned two residences.
“I just don’t know what to say. My heart is just taken aback,” Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said during a news conference, NBC News reported. “I just cannot begin to imagine how such an event can occur.”
All of the victims were related.
One of the women killed was Elkins’ wife, who was shot in the face. The other woman was believed to be his girlfriend. According to Bordelon, seven of the children were found dead inside the home, while the eighth was found dead on a back roof.
He said many of the children were shot in their sleep and most of them were shot in the head.
Seven of the eight children belonged to Elkins, and one was a cousin, according to the coroner’s office, NBC News reported. Their mothers identified them as Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5.
“We know it’s domestic in nature, we know his wife is involved, and she is the mother of at least seven of the children, with the eighth being a family friend,” Bordelon said. “It is a disgusting and evil scene.”
Police are confident the shootings were domestic in nature.
According to Crystal Brown, the cousin of one of the women shot, Elkins and his wife were in the process of separating, the Associated Press reported. In fact, they were due in court on April 20, Brown said. She knew the couple had been arguing about the separation before the shooting.
“He murdered his children,” she said. “He shot his wife.” Brown said although four of the children belonged to Elkins and his wife, he shared three of them with the other woman, who lived nearby. All of the children happened to be at the same house at the time of their killings. She described them all as “happy kids, very friendly, very sweet.”
Elkins is the sole suspect in the killings.
Liza Demming, a woman who lives two houses away from where most of the victims were shot, said her security camera picked up Elkins running away, along with the sound of gunshots.
“That’s pretty much all I saw, was him running out of the house and the cars leaving,” she said, per AP. When she went outside, she saw the covered body of one of the children on the roof.
Officials are still investigating and gathering evidence from the four locations that make up the crime scene, KSLA reported. Those locations include the two homes where people were shot, the scene where Elkins allegedly stole a car, and the scene where he was found by police.
After a pursuit, police tracked down Elkins in the stolen car in neighboring Bossier Parish.
“Officers were forced to discharge their department-issued firearms, neutralizing the suspect,” police shared in a statement obtained by NBC News. Elkins died as a result.
Louisiana State Police are investigating the shooting of Elkins, but Shreveport police said nothing suggests any wrongdoing by their officers.
According to a database maintained by the Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University, this killing was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States since eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb in January 2024.
