Eight children aged 1 to 12 killed in worst US mass shooting in two years

Washington: A 31-year-old army veteran killed eight children, seven of whom were his own, in the worst US mass shooting in more than two years.

The horrific crime spree took place across three separate homes in Shreveport, a city in Louisiana’s north-west near the Texas border. The perpetrator then stole a car and was killed following a police pursuit.

Shreveport police corporal Chris Bordelon identified the killer as Shamar Elkins and described the incident as “domestic in nature”. Two women, including the children’s mother, were also shot and seriously injured.

Earlier, at a news conference outside one of the crime scenes, people audibly gasped and wailed as Bordelon revealed 10 people were shot in total, and that the eight dead were aged between 1 and 14. Police later clarified the eldest was 12.

“All of the deceased in this case are juveniles,” Bordelon said. “We do know that some of the children inside were his descendants.”

Later, Bordelon told television network KSLA that seven of the eight murdered children were believed to belong to Elkins and the mother who was shot.

One of the women shot in the attack fled to a neighbouring house and called police. A 13-year-old boy – not believed to be Elkins’ child – also fled the property by jumping off the roof, sustaining some broken bones, Bordelon told KSLA.

He said police were still working to piece together details of the heinous incident, including the connections between the two women and their children.

The crime spree unfolded early on Sunday morning (US time), with police called to one of the residences at 6am. It was established that the crime spree encompassed two residences on that street, and another residence nearby.

Bordelon said gunshots were fired at all three locations, and there was no doubt the scenes were connected.

After leaving the third home, Elkins carjacked a vehicle and was pursued by police into a neighbouring parish. Officers fired their weapons and the suspect was killed, though the exact circumstances of his death were still unclear.

Bordelon said he had never seen a crime like it in his police career.

The Associated Press reported it was the deadliest mass shooting in the US since eight people were killed in Chicago in early 2024, according to a database it maintains in partnership with USA Today and Northeastern University.

Mayor Tom Arceneaux said it was “a tragic situation – maybe the worst tragic situation we have ever had in Shreveport”.

“It is a terrible morning … we all mourn with the victims,” he said.

Liza Demming, who lives two doors down from one of the shooting scenes, said her security camera captured video of the gunman running away toward a tire shop. She said she could hear two shots on the audio.

“That’s pretty much all I saw, was him running out of the house,” she said.

Demming said she later saw one of the child victims, who had already been covered, laying on the roof of the house. But she said she never heard anything like a fight or argument.

“It was nothing loud, no altercations. It was quiet. Nothing.”

With about 180,000 people, the city on the Red River is the third largest in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Councillor Grayson Boucher called the heinous act “nothing but pure evil”. “We as a community – black, white, Republican, Democrat – need to stand together and fight for what is right,” he said.

House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, who represents the Louisiana district where the shootings occurred, called it a “senseless tragedy” and called on followers to pray for the families and first responders.

“Local officials are saying it is one of the worst tragedies they have ever seen. God be with the community through this terrible time,” he said.

With AP

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.