Haunted by ‘Dark Thoughts,’ Louisiana Father Kills 8 Children

Seven of the eight children killed were the shooter’s own. Relatives said the gunman, who died in a confrontation with the police, was struggling with mental health problems and stressed about his relationship with his wife.

New Details in the Mass Shooting That Left 8 Dead in Louisiana

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On Monday, city and state officials gave updates on a mass shooting in Shreveport, La., in which a gunman opened fire on his family, killing eight children and injuring two others.CreditCredit…Jill Pickett/The Times-Picayune, via The New Orleans Advocate, via Associated Press

Eight children were killed and two other people were gravely wounded in a shooting spree that spanned at least three locations in Shreveport, La., and ended with the gunman shot dead after a police chase on Sunday morning, the authorities said.

The gunman, Shamar Elkins, 31, had mental health problems and had recently expressed suicidal thoughts, family members said in interviews.

The children ranged in age from 3 to 11, officials said, and seven of the eight were Mr. Elkins’s. He shot them execution style, according to a spokesman for the Shreveport Police Department.

The children were identified by the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office as Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5.

Mr. Elkins also shot two other people, including his wife, who was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries on Sunday, officials and relatives said.

After the shootings, the authorities said, Mr. Elkins took a car by force, and police officers pursued him. The officers opened fire and Mr. Elkins died, Cpl. Chris Bordelon of the Shreveport Police Department said in a news conference. It is unclear if officers killed Mr. Elkins or if he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Mayor Tom Arceneaux of Shreveport described the killings in a news conference as “maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had.”

On Sunday afternoon, friends and relatives of Mr. Elkins said they were processing the devastating toll of the killings. The police have not offered a possible motive and their investigation is ongoing.

In interviews, relatives described Mr. Elkins as someone who was recently struggling with his mental health and who was stressed about his relationship with his wife, Shaneiqua Pugh.

Earlier this month, on Easter Sunday, he called his mother, Mahelia Elkins, and his stepfather, Marcus Jackson. Ms. Elkins and Mr. Jackson said in interviews that their son sounded despondent. They said they could hear his children playing in the background during the call.

Mr. Elkins told them through tears that he wanted to take his own life. He told Mr. Jackson that his wife wanted a divorce, and that he was drowning in “dark thoughts.”

“I told him, ‘You can beat stuff, man. I don’t care what you’re going through, you can beat it,’” Mr. Jackson said. “Then I remember him telling me: ‘Some people don’t come back from their demons.’”

Mr. Elkins hung up, promising to tell his children, dressed in their Sunday best, that their grandparents in Oklahoma City said hello.

Ms. Elkins said she did not know exactly what problems her son was having with his wife. Records show that they were married in 2024. She added that her son worked for UPS and had served in the Army.

The Army said in a statement on Sunday that Mr. Elkins served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from August 2013 to August 2020 as a signal support system specialist and a fire support specialist. He had no deployment and left the Army as a private.

Ms. Elkins said she was not extremely close with her son. She had Mr. Elkins when she was a teenager and struggling with a crack cocaine addiction, so she left him to be raised by a family friend, Betty Walker. Ms. Elkins reconnected with her son more than a decade ago.

Ms. Walker, who spoke to the authorities on Sunday but did not witness the shootings, said in an interview that Mr. Elkins shot his wife several times, including in the head and in the stomach.

Ms. Walker said she last saw Mr. Elkins last weekend when his family came over for dinner. Nothing appeared off with him at the time, she said.

“I was getting up this morning to make myself some coffee, and I got the call,” she said. “My babies — my babies are gone.”

Records show that Mr. Elkins had at least two prior convictions, including for driving while intoxicated in 2016 and for the illegal use of weapons in 2019.

In a police description of the March 2019 incident, an officer wrote that Mr. Elkins pulled a 9-millimeter handgun out of his waistband and shot at a vehicle five times after the driver of the car had pulled a silver handgun on him. One of the bullets Mr. Elkins shot was found near a school where children were playing outside.

Willie Vasher, who used to work at UPS with Mr. Elkins, said in an interview that his children were friends with the Elkins children when they lived in Shreveport in 2024. Mr. Elkins appeared like a typical devoted father, Mr. Vasher said.

The only thing that stuck out to him about Mr. Elkins was that he often appeared stressed. He had a bald spot on his head because he had a tendency to nervously pull out his hair throughout the day, Mr. Vasher said. Ms. Elkins said she also noticed that tic.

“All day I’ve been asking, ‘What happened?’” Mr. Vasher said.

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Mayor Tom Arceneaux of Shreveport, La., called the shooting “maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had.” Credit…Shreveport Police Department

In recent weeks, Mr. Elkins’s mother and stepfather had felt uneasy about their son, even as he appeared to signal some hope. He shared a prayer on Facebook this month that began: “Dear God, Today I ask you to help me guard my mind and my emotions.”

He sent them a photo of his family. His mother texted him last Tuesday to ask how they were, and he replied, “Everyone is doing OK.”

On Thursday, Ms. Elkins texted: “I love y’all. Give my grandson and my granddaughters a kiss from grandma. Thanks so much.”

He never replied.

On Sunday, Mr. Jackson got the first hint that something was wrong when strangers commented on his Facebook posts to say Mr. Elkins was “the devil.”

Ms. Elkins took out her phone and read a headline that eight children — including her grandchildren — were dead.

“Why, God?” she said, crying. “Why?”