Police identified the gunman who allegedly killed eight children in Louisiana Sunday morning after a domestic dispute, claiming he posted a lighthearted post of his daughter online hours before he committed the murders.
Shortly after 6 a.m. Central Time, Shamar Elkins, a 31-year-old army vet, allegedly unleashed his unimaginable violence at three residences in Shreveport, according to authorities. At a news conference on Sunday, a police representative read out the ages of the victims, who ranged in age from 1 to 14, and there was audible gasping.
On his Facebook page, Elkins shared a picture of him with his eldest daughter as she ate a burger mere hours before the carnage.
“Lol!!!! Took my oldest on a lil 1 on 1 date had to catch her down bad ugh ugh,” he captioned the photo with laughing emojis.
• Shooting victim’s son, 10, unmasked killer with haunting statement to police
• Fake nurse avoids jail after treating thousands of patients without license
Elkins also posted a photo of himself with seven children two weeks ago while talking about taking them to church for an Easter service. “Happy Easter had a wonderful time at church for the first time with all my kids what a blessed day,” he wrote in the Facebook post.
However, Elkins also made reference to mental health issues in a recent Facebook post in which he asked God to “guard” his thoughts. “Dear God, Today I ask You to help me guard my mind and my emotions,” read the post dated April 9.
“When negativity arises, remind me to say, ‘It does not belong to me, in the name of Jesus,’ he said.
Around six in the morning on Sunday, gunfire rang out in Shreveport, Louisiana, and police verified that ten persons were hit in the domestic dispute. At a press conference, Shreveport Police Department Corporal Chris Bordelon stated that the large crime scene included three locations in the Cedar Grove area.
“We have at least 10 individuals that were struck by gunfire in a domestic disturbance,” he said. Eight of these individuals, who ranged in age from one to 14 years old, have died. According to KTBS, a little boy was hurt when he leaped from a roof, and two adult women were shot and are now in the hospital.
Bordelon told reporters that Elkins committed a carjacking after leaving the main scene, and that patrol officers pursued him before he was shot and killed by officers.
Elkins allegedly opened fire in the 300 block of West 79th Street close to Linwood Avenue, killing several persons, according to Corporal Bordelon.
According to police, Elkins also shot at a house on Harrison Street a quarter of a mile away. Bordelon continued, “This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen.”
The vast crime scene includes four locations, two houses, and another house on a different street.
Some of the children who were killed were descendants of Elkins, according to the authorities.
Several public figures issued statements on Sunday denouncing the bloody incident.
“My heart is taken aback, I just cannot begin to imagine how such an event can occur,” Police Chief Wayne Smith added.
“This affects the entire community. We all mourn with these families,” Shreveport mayor Tom Arceneaux told reporters.
“It’s a Sunday morning, I ask all of you to pray at your services this morning not just for this family, but for all the victims, for the victims at the hospital, and the community at large.”
