8 children dead, 2 women critical after mass shooting in Shreveport

Police say children ranged in age from one to 12 years old, gunman was allegedly the father of seven victims

Published Apr 19, 2026  •  3 minute read

People grieve as they comfort each other outside the scene of a mass shooting, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Shreveport, La. Photo by Gerald Herbert /AP Photo

Eight children were killed and two women were critically injured Sunday in Louisiana in the deadliest mass shooting in the United States in more than a year.

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In what officials believed was “entirely a domestic incident,” a gunman opened fire at three homes in Shreveport, La., allegedly killing seven of his own children and another youngster. The mother of the suspect’s children and another woman were in life-threatening condition as well.

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Police said the children ranged in age from one to 12 years old.

Teen boy, another woman escaped

A 13-year-old boy had reportedly survived, according to KSLA News 12, after jumping from the roof of one of the buildings. They reported that he had a “few broken bones,” but was expected to recover.

A third woman is believed to have escaped the shootings as well, KSLA News 12 reported.

Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux described the incident as “maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had.

“It rattles the entire city,” Arceneaux said, via CNN. “It affects us all.”

Police tape runs across 79th St. in Shreveport, La., Sunday, April 19, 2026, as police work at the scene of a mass shooting. Photo by Jill Pickett /The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP

Gunman ID’d as ex-national guardsman

Shreveport Police spokesperson Cpl. Chris Bordelon later identified the suspect as Shamar Elkins, who died in a police pursuit after allegedly carjacking a vehicle at gunpoint.

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Bordelon said via The Associated Press that Elkins had been arrested in a 2019 firearms case, but they were unaware of any prior domestic incidents. The U.S. army confirmed via CNN that Elkins had served in the national guard for seven years until August 2020, but was never deployed.

“This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” Bordelon said.

Cops had yet to reveal a possible motive for the attacks and reports said they had asked Louisiana State Police to investigate as well.

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Conflicting reports on number of crime scenes

Reports said the shootings began before sunrise south of downtown Shreveport, which is Louisiana’s third most populous city and is situated near the state’s border with Texas and Arkansas.

There were conflicting reports on how many homes were targeted with some outlets saying two and others reporting shots fired at three locations. While KSLA News 12 and AP said two homes were targeted, CNN reported that victims were found in two homes on West 79th St. as well as a home on Harrison St. in the city’s Cedar Grove neighbourhood.

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The body of one child was found on the roof of one home after apparently trying to escape the violence, Bordelon said via The Associated Press.

Deadliest mass shooting since 2024

Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith, one of the officials reportedly stunned by the slayings, said he could not “begin to imagine how such an event could occur.”

“I can’t even imagine what the police officers, first responders actually dealt with when they got here today,” Louisiana state Rep. Tammy Phelps said at a news conference, via AP, revealing that some of the kids had tried to escape through a back door at one of the homes.

The names of the children were not being released as identification was not complete, the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office said via a statement obtained by AP.

The shootings were the deadliest in the U.S. since eight people were gunned down in suburban Chicago in January 2024, according to information from The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

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