The city of Shreveport, Louisiana recently witnessed the nation’s deadliest mass shooting in more than two years, when Shamar Elkins, a 31-year-old father and former soldier, killed eight children, seven of his own.
The incident, which took place on April 19, left the city in shock and grief. Reports indicate that he shot a total of 10 people, including eight children between the ages of one and 14. He also shot his wife and another woman. CNN reported that a third woman, his wife’s sister, and a 12-year-old girl jumped from the roof in an attempt to escape.
Read also | Louisiana shooting: 8 children dead in Shreveport, suspect killed by police
Police previously said it was a 13-year-old boy who jumped off the roof while trying to escape.
Shreveport Seeks Answers After Deadly Attack: Top Updates:
1. According to the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office, the identities of those killed have been released and include Sariah Snow, 11, Markaydon Pugh, 10, Layla Pugh, 7, Kayla Pugh, 6, Khedarrion Snow, 6, Shayla Elkins, 5, Braylon Snow, 5, and Jayla Elkins, 3.
2. The incident involved three houses. Police received a total of three calls, the first of which came just before 6 a.m. from a person who called from the roof of a home on West 79th Street to report that a suspect had just shot someone inside, Police Chief Wayne Smith said at a news conference Monday. The second caller said the suspect shot everyone in the home, adding that nine people lived in the home. A third call was received around 6:01 a.m. about another shooting on Harrison Street. The woman said her boyfriend shot her, took her three children and fled the scene, Smith said. The caller identified the suspect as Elkins.
Read also | Eight children ages 1 to 14 killed in Louisiana: What we know
3. Days before posting the Easter picture of his family, Elkins reposted an inspirational prayer from the Facebook page that read: “Dear God, today I ask You to help protect my mind and my emotions.” The prayer is also said to ask for the strength to “reject” depression, anger, anxiety and panic.
4. In an interview with CNN, several members of Elkins’ family noted that he suffered from mental health issues. According to The New York Times, the woman who raised him but was not his biological mother claimed he tried to take his own life earlier in February.
Read also | Several injured near University of Iowa after wild fight leads to mass shooting
5. According to Troy Brown, Elkins’ brother-in-law, the ex-soldier apparently had a hard time because he and his wife were divorcing.
6. The 31-year-old man served in the Louisiana Army National Guard as a signal support system specialist and a fire support specialist and recently stayed at a local VA hospital to receive treatment for his mental health issues, a family member said.
7. Elkins was repeatedly asked by his family members if he had to go back to the hospital, which he reportedly denied, saying, “I’ll just deal with it.”
8. According to The New York Times, Elkins warned his wife Pugh to kill her, their children, and himself if the former decided to leave him.
9. Andrew McCabe, former deputy director of the FBI and CNN’s chief law enforcement analyst, noted that investigators will now try to determine whether this was a case of family extermination.
