Shooter who killed eight children in Louisiana identified

The shooter who killed eight children in Louisiana on Sunday morning has been identified as a former Army National Guardsman. The man behind the rampage has been named as Shamar Elkins, who is also believed to have been a father to some of the victims. The 31-year-old opened fire at a home in Shreveport during a domestic disturbance with his 34-year-old wife Shaneiqua Pugh, former Caddo Parish Constable Patrick Young said.  The man behind the rampage has been named as Shamar Elkins, who is also believed to have been a father to some of the victims Pic:Facebook An 18-month-old was among his victims, the Shreveport Police Department said.  He was later fatally shot by police during a vehicle chase. A total of 10 people were shot, but Pugh and another woman survived the deadly rampage.   SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA – APRIL 19: The Pugh and Elkins families gather while grieving the death of family members on April 19, 2026 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Eight children were killed and two women were wounded during a domestic violence incident in the early morning hours, according to local authorities. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Shreveport police told the Daily Mail the pair had argued at the home they shared with the children before the shooting spree.  One of the women is expected to survive the attack, but the other woman had more serious, life-threatening injuries, police said. The horrific ordeal unfolded across three different locations. Shreveport Police Department Corporal Chris Bordelon talks to the press across the street from the house where a mass shooting took place in Shreveport, Louisiana, on April 19, 2026. Eight children were killed in a shooting spree early April 19 in the southern US state of Louisiana, in what police said appears to have been an incident of domestic violence. The incident, which took place just after 6:00 am (1100 GMT) in the city of Shreveport, was the deadliest mass shooting in the US in more than two years, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. (Photo by Gianrigo MARLETTA / AFP via Getty Images) The first, 300 block of West 79th Street near Linwood Avenue, was where the children were massacred in a home just a stone’s throw away from a Baptist church. Elkins then performed a carjacking at that location and led officers on a high-speed chase, traveling a quarter-mile away to Harrison Street, between Wallace Avenue and Bernstein Avenue, police said.  He then drove to the third location, in Bossier Parish, on Brompton Lane near Long Acre Drive. He was shot and killed by police there. A woman is seen outside the house where a mass shooting took place in Shreveport, Louisiana, on April 19, 2026. Eight children were killed in a shooting spree early April 19 in the southern US state of Louisiana, in what police said appears to have been an incident of domestic violence. The incident, which took place just after 6:00 am (1100 GMT) in the city of Shreveport, was the deadliest mass shooting in the US in more than two years, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. (Photo by Gianrigo MARLETTA / AFP via Getty Images) The crime scene was described as ‘rather extensive’ by police spokesperson Christopher Bordelon. ‘We do believe him to be the only individual that fired gunshots at these locations here,’ he said Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said the local community was still coming to terms with the scale of the tragedy. The mayor added that the incident is ‘maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had in Shreveport.’ ‘So, right now we’re going to process the information, and it’s in very good hands,’ he continued. Elkins previously served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from August 2013 to August 2020 as a Signal Support System Specialist and a Fire Support Specialist, an Army official told Fox News Digital.  ‘He has no deployment. He left the Army as a private.’ Elkins also has a criminal history. He was previously arrested in 2019, after cops said he fired several shots near a high school in Shreveport, according to court records obtained by the Daily Mail.  Elkins was charged with illegal use of weapons and dangerous instrumentalities and carrying a firearm or dangerous weapon near a school. He served 30 days in the parish jail and was placed on supervised release for 18 months. Caddo Parish Schools Superintendent Keith Burton called the shooting an ‘unspeakable tragedy.’ He added: ‘We know that eight young lives were taken far too soon. They were children with dreams, hopes, and futures that were just beginning to take shape. ‘There are no words that can make sense of a loss like this. As a community, we must wrap around one another in the days ahead.  ‘We must take care of our children, support our families, and stand beside our educators and first responders who are carrying the weight of this moment.’ Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office sent the following statement: ‘Multiple law enforcement agencies are investigating this tragic situation. ‘We do not yet know all the details, but I am deeply saddened by the senseless loss of life. ‘I’m praying for the victims and their family members in the wake of this devastating violence.’

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