Father who shot dead 8 children before being killed in police firefight

A father who shot eight children dead in the worst mass shooting in the US for two years has been identified.

Shamar Elkins, 31, was shot dead by police after a 20-mile police chase in Louisiana at 6am on Sunday.

Elkins, who is believed to be the dad of some of the victims, shot a woman at one property then drove to another home in Shreveport where the children were killed in what police have called a ‘violent domestic incident’.

Police chief Wayne Smith confirmed that 10 people were shot in total – the youngest was just one year old.

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Another was found dead on the roof of their family home while trying to escape the gunfire.

Liza Demming, who lives nearby and saw the body on the roof, said her security camera filmed Elkins running away from the scene.

She added that she had seen Elkins with the children only a few days earlier.

Police spokesperson Christopher Bordelon said that one child managed to run to a neighbour to get help.

After the killings, Elkins carjacked a man at gunpoint and drove away with officers in pursuit for 20 miles into Bossier Parish.

The chase only came to an end when he was shot dead in a firefight.

Just two weeks before the murders, Elkins posted a picture of himself with eight children on social media. He wrote ‘Happy Easter had a wonderful time at church for the first time with all my kids what a blessed day’.

It is believed that Elkins had been discharged from the US Army. A friend told Metro: ‘They were a lovely family. Everyone knew them around Shreveport.

‘I think the military just messed him up. He was left feeling like he had no support.’

Mayor Tom Arceneaux said: ‘This is a tragic situation; maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had.

Appealing for information, pictures or video, Chief Smith said the scene was ‘unlike anything most of us have ever seen’.

The weekend’s incident is the highest death toll in a single US shooting since eight people were killed in Chicago in January 2024.