Shreveport mass shooting: Police say Shamar Elkins is gunman who killed 8 children

City leaders in Shreveport, Louisiana, said a deadly domestic violence attack that killed eight children and injured two adults, has had an immediate and staggering impact, with one councilman noting the incident more than doubled the city’s homicide total in a single act.

“I've struggled all morning since I woke up,” Councilman Grayson Boucher said. “Over 30% of our crimes and 30% of our murders in the city of Shreveport are domestic in relation. Now, that number has gone up. We more than doubled our homicides in the city of Shreveport because of one act of domestic violence.”

He described the violence as “pure evil” and warned that without intervention, similar incidents could continue.

“We can have 100 new police cars. We can have a brand new, beautiful multimillion dollar police substation right up the road,” Boucher continued. “But until we stop this violence, the cycle of violence, like I've said over and over again, we're going to still be standing here, and it's only going to get worse.”

Other officials echoed Boucher, stressing that the shooting underscores the dangers of domestic disputes and the need for earlier intervention.

Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor emphasized the severity of the case and urged the community to take warning signs seriously.

“From what I've learned about this incident…it's domestic in nature. That makes it even more horrific,” she said. “This is not a freaking joke. This is real. And this is the result when someone snaps.”

Leaders also pointed to the broader toll on the community, including first responders who encountered the scene. Officials said the emotional burden on police, firefighters and emergency personnel is significant, particularly given the number of children involved.

Authorities and community leaders are now calling for increased use of available domestic violence resources and expanded support systems, saying the impact of the tragedy will be felt across the city and beyond in the days ahead.

Louisiana State Sen. Sam L. Jenkins, Jr. said his “deepest concern” after a mass shooting that killed eight children was that the suspect may have had a history of domestic violence, raising questions about whether offenders are being tracked closely enough.

Jenkins told local station KTAL the violence has shaken not just the Cedar Grove neighborhood where it happened, but the broader Shreveport community, as investigators continue working to piece together what led up to the attack.

“I’m very concerned that we are not, maybe keeping a closer track on people who have had some history of domestic violence, and offering them some kind of treatment,” Jenkins said. “Maybe events like this would be less occurring if we began to make that an important part of the follow up.”

Jenkins added that members of the community had prior concerns about the suspect, pointing to what he described as warning signs that may have gone unaddressed in the lead-up to the violence.

“They knew of this gentleman,” he said. “They felt like he had had some tendencies or some, events that had happened before, and just hope that some lessons could be learned going in the future.”

The senator emphasized that while responsibility ultimately lies with the suspect, the scale of the tragedy — particularly the number of children killed — has left both residents and responding officers reeling.

“When you look at the number of children that were victimized by this situation, it’s been an emotional, very emotional situation, for the people that live in this community,” Jenkins said, later adding, “There are going to be a lot of burials involved here as we go forward.”

Jenkins said he came to the scene to show support and urged continued outreach to the victims’ families in the days ahead, stressing that the community response cannot end once the immediate shock fades.

House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said his thoughts and prayers are with the Shreveport community after a “heartbreaking tragedy” claimed the lives of eight children on Sunday.

“Heartbreaking tragedy in Shreveport this morning — 8 children were senselessly killed and multiple others were injured,” Johnson wrote on X. “My team is in touch with local law enforcement as more details emerge.

“We’re holding the victims, their families and loved ones, and our Shreveport community close in our thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time,” he added. “And we are grateful to the Shreveport, Bossier, and Louisiana State Police for their swift response.”

A man shot eight children in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Sunday, with victims as young as 18 months old — some of whom were his own descendants — and according to retired Supervisory FBI Agent Jason Pack, this did not just happen overnight.

Pack said violence like this follows what behavioral experts call a “pathway to violence,” a process that develops over time rather than in a single moment. In familicide cases, that pathway often begins with a grievance — a breakup, custody dispute, or perceived humiliation — that the individual fixates on until it becomes the center of his thinking.

“He stops trying to resolve it and starts feeding it,” Pack explained, describing how offenders build a narrative where they are the victim and those around them are responsible. Over time, that distorted thinking deepens, and the people closest to them are no longer seen as individuals, but as part of the problem.

That shift, Pack said, leads to gradual dehumanization. By the time the violence occurs, the moral barrier that would normally prevent it is already gone. “It did not go that morning,” he said. “It went quietly, over time.”

Investigators say the suspect moved between multiple homes before the violence ended in a carjacking, a police chase, and a confrontation with officers — a sequence Pack said is consistent with planning and what is often described as suicide by cop. “He had already decided he was not coming back,” Pack said.

The investigation now spans four separate scenes, with Shreveport police leading the homicide case and Louisiana State Police handling the officer-involved shooting. Authorities are also working to understand what warning signs may have existed beforehand, with two surviving adult women expected to play a key role in determining whether there were opportunities to intervene.

A domestic dispute that led to a shooting in Louisiana left eight children dead at different homes early Sunday before the shooter was shot dead after a chase by officers, authorities say.

Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Chris Bordelon said 10 people were shot, including children between the ages of 1 and 14, and two adults.

"I just don’t know what to say, my heart is just taken aback," Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said. "I cannot begin to imagine how such an event could occur."

"This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen," Bordelon said.

Find out more about what led to the shooting.

Fox News Digital’s Eric Mack contributed to this report.