A gunman killed eight children and wounded two women across two houses in Shreveport, La., early Sunday in what authorities called an act of domestic violence, one of the deadliest U.S. mass shootings in more than two years. Police identified the suspect as 31-year-old Shamar Elkins of Shreveport, who was shot by officers after a pursuit that ended in neighboring Bossier City.

Seven of the children were Elkins' own, police said, and one of the wounded women was their mother. The attack shattered a neighborhood south of downtown in a city of about 180,000 residents roughly 200 miles east of Dallas, and stunned officials who said they had never seen a scene like it.

What police said

Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Chris Bordelon said the victims ranged in age from 1 to about 12 years old. Investigators were called to a home around 6 a.m. local time after a woman shot at one house ran to an adjacent residence; officers then learned of a third crime scene nearby, where seven children were found dead inside and an eighth was found on the roof after apparently trying to escape.

Bordelon said detectives were confident the shooting was "entirely a domestic incident" and that investigators had not determined what set off the violence. He said Elkins had been arrested in 2019 in a firearms case and that police were not aware of any prior domestic violence issues involving him. NPR reported that the gunman used an assault-style weapon.

Officers fired at the suspect during a chase after he carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint, Bordelon said. The Louisiana State Police, which is investigating the officer-involved shooting, said no officers were harmed. One of the wounded women has life-threatening injuries, Bordelon told reporters.

Reaction

"This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen," Bordelon said at a news conference outside one of the residences. Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said he was at a loss: "I just don't know what to say, my heart is just taken aback."

Mayor Tom Arceneaux called it "maybe the worst tragic situation we've ever had" in the city. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he and his wife, Sharon, were "heartbroken over this horrific situation." U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is from Shreveport, said he was holding the victims, their families and the community in his thoughts and prayers.

A neighbor, Liza Demming, said her security camera captured video of the suspect running from the house and the sound of two shots. Demming later saw the covered body of a child on the roof. "He looks like the dad that comes over here," she said, adding that he had been with the children a few days earlier.

Caveat

The Caddo Parish Coroner's Office said Sunday it was not yet releasing the children's names because identification was pending, and police had not publicly identified a motive. Louisiana State Police asked anyone with pictures, video or information to share it with detectives.

According to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University, it was the deadliest U.S. mass shooting since eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb in January 2024.