Shamar Elkins Killed 8 Children in Shreveport Louisiana Mass Shooting While Most Slept

A mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana tore through a family early Sunday morning, leaving eight children dead and exposing a trail of violence that stretched across four separate locations before the gunman was hunted down and killed by police.

The shooting unfolded in the Cedar Grove neighborhood of Shreveport, Louisiana, beginning around 5:00 a.m. ET on April 19, 2026. Authorities identified the suspect as 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, a lifelong Shreveport resident who launched the attack by first shooting his wife multiple times at a residence on Harrison Street, striking her in the face before driving to a second home.

At the second location on the 300 block of West 79th Street, Elkins opened fire on eight children and a second adult woman. Seven of the eight children killed were his own. Investigators said it appears many of the children were shot in their sleep, with most of them shot in the head. A police spokesperson called it "a disgusting and evil scene."

The eight children killed included five girls and three boys ranging in age from 3 to 11. The Caddo Parish Coroner's Office confirmed their identities, as provided by their mothers, 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.

One child, a 13-year-old boy, survived by jumping from the roof of the home. He sustained broken bones but no gunshot wounds and was able to call for help. He is expected to recover physically. A separate child was found dead on a back roof, where investigators believe the child had attempted to escape.

Elkins and his wife, 34-year-old Shaneiqua Pugh, had married roughly two years prior and were in the middle of separating, with a court date scheduled for the following day, April 20. A relative of one of the wounded women told the Associated Press that Elkins and his wife had been arguing prior to the shooting. His mother and stepfather separately told the New York Times that Elkins had been deeply stressed about the state of his marriage.

A neighbor who lives across the street said he had seen no warning signs whatsoever. He recalled waving to Elkins on the porch just the evening before, watching the children play in the yard, and then waking the next morning to the horror unfolding outside. Photos on Elkins' Facebook page showed him with several of his children, including one posted just two weeks before the shooting.

After the shooting, Elkins fled on foot, carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint, and led Shreveport police on a high-speed chase into neighboring Bossier City. Officers confronted him on Brompton Lane near Long Acre Drive, where gunfire was exchanged and Elkins was shot and killed. No officers were injured. Louisiana State Police assumed oversight of the investigation into the officer-involved shooting.

Elkins had previously pleaded guilty to a weapons charge in 2019 and had served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from 2013 to 2020 as a signal support system specialist and fire support specialist. He was never deployed and left the military as a private.

The Shreveport mass shooting is the deadliest in the United States since January 2024. The eight children's deaths more than doubled the total number of homicides recorded in Shreveport and Caddo Parish for the entire year. A councilman noted that single act alone reshaped the city's annual homicide count in one morning.

Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux called it "maybe the worst tragic situation we've ever had in Shreveport." Police Chief Wayne Smith, visibly shaken, told reporters he could not begin to comprehend how such an event was possible. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said in a public statement that he and his wife were heartbroken and praying for those affected by the Louisiana shooting.