Shreveport, Louisiana, is reeling after police said Shamar Elkins killed eight children, seven of them his own, in a series of shootings that spread across multiple homes. Authorities said the violence also left his wife, Shaneiqua Pugh, and Christina Snow, the mother of three of his children, injured, while other family members fled by jumping from a roof.
The case has drawn attention not only for the scale of the loss, but also for the questions around Elkins, his family life, and the warning signs that relatives now say were visible before the attack. Saturday afternoon, a neighbor saw Elkins sitting on his porch while children played nearby, a normal scene that was followed by a deadly morning of police calls, gunfire, and grief.
What police say happened
Shreveport police said the first emergency call came in just before 6 a.m. from a person on the roof of a home on West 79th Street. The caller said a suspect inside had just shot someone, and officers reached the scene at 6:01 a.m., Chief Wayne Smith said.
A second call soon followed. Dispatch was told the suspect was a family member, that nine people lived in the home, and that everyone inside had been shot, according to Smith.
Minutes later, police received another report from Harrison Street. In that call, a woman said her boyfriend had shot her, taken her three children, and fled the scene. The caller identified the suspect as Elkins.
Police said the attack stretched across at least three crime scenes. It ended around 6:29 a.m., when officers shot Elkins after he carjacked a vehicle and led authorities on a chase into neighboring Bossier Parish.
Elkins was pronounced dead at the scene just after 7 a.m., police said.
The children killed
Authorities said the youngest victim was 3-year-old Jayla Elkins. The other children killed were Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Mar’Kaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5, according to the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office.
Police said seven of the eight children were Elkins’ own. The deaths more than doubled the number of homicides in Shreveport and Caddo Parish this year, according to the coroner’s office.
Family members escaped in chaos
As the shooting unfolded, some children tried to escape out the back of one of the homes, a state representative said. Bullet holes were visible in the back door on Monday, reflecting how quickly the violence spread through the family residence.
Authorities also said a third woman, Pugh’s sister, and a 12-year-old girl jumped from the roof while trying to get away. Police had earlier described the child as a 13-year-old boy, but later corrected that detail.
Christina Snow’s aunt, LaShun Berry, said Snow was shot in the face. Berry also said Snow lived only a block away from Elkins and Pugh, which she said made the attack even more devastating for the family.
Who Shamar Elkins was
Elkins had been seen publicly as a father in family photos posted online. In an Easter image on Facebook, he smiled with his children, who stood on either side of him in matching clothes.
In the post, he wrote, “Had a wonderful time at church for the first time with all my kids what a blessed day.” Days later, he reposted a prayer asking, “Dear God, Today I ask You to help me guard my mind and my emotions.”
The prayer also asked for strength to reject “depression, anger, anxiety and panic.” Family members told CNN that Elkins had struggled with mental health issues.
Brown said Elkins had recently stayed at the local VA hospital for treatment related to mental health. He also said Elkins was in the Louisiana Army National Guard as a signal support system specialist and a fire support specialist.
A family under strain
Relatives said Elkins and Pugh were going through a divorce, and Brown said Pugh filed because of infidelity. Brown-Page said the two were supposed to go to court Monday to sign the divorce papers.
The New York Times reported that Pugh had once considered leaving Elkins before they were married, and that he had told her he would kill her, their children, and himself if she did.
Family members said Elkins had talked about his struggles in the days before the shooting. Brown said he often tried to keep him occupied with simple routines, like sitting outside, playing dominoes, or going for walks.
Elkins told Brown he was fine, according to Brown. “I’m just gonna deal with it,” Brown recalled him saying.
Brown later said, “I wish he went ahead and got the help.”
The community response
By Monday morning, a memorial of flowers, balloons, and stuffed animals had grown outside the family’s home. Neighbors and strangers stopped by throughout the day, some praying and others crying as the community tried to absorb the scale of the loss.
Mayor Tom Arceneaux called the shooting “horrific” and said it was the kind of event that “rattles the entire city.” City Councilmember Tabatha Taylor also urged stronger attention to mental health needs, saying, “This is not a freaking joke! This is real, and this is the result when someone snaps.”
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said the Love One Louisiana Foundation would help pay for the funerals, while the Community Foundation of North Louisiana would provide support to the surviving family members. Berry said all eight funerals would be held together, and the children would be buried near one another.
Questions investigators are still facing
Investigators are now trying to understand what led Elkins to begin the rampage and whether warning signs were missed. Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said the case may fit the pattern of family annihilation, a deliberate effort to kill one’s family at once.
Montgomery, the neighbor who saw Elkins and the children the day before the shooting, said he often saw them playing in the street or yard. He said he first thought about the children when he heard what had happened on Sunday morning.
“You hope the children are all right,” Montgomery said. “But they were not.”
The lasting impact in Shreveport is visible not only in the police response and the memorial outside the home, but also in the family statements describing children who were deeply loved and a community still searching for answers after one of the deadliest mass shootings the nation has seen in more than two years.
Read more at: www.cnn.com
