Shamar Elkins, a 31-year-old resident of Shreveport in Louisiana, fatally shot eight children aged between three and eleven years old in the early hours of Sunday 19 April 2026 during what police described as a violent domestic incident linked to the breakdown of his marriage.

Seven of the children were Elkins’s own and one was a cousin. The Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office identified the victims as Jayla Elkins, three, Shayla Elkins, five, Kayla Pugh, six, Layla Pugh, seven, Markaydon Pugh, ten, Sariahh Snow, eleven, Khedarrion Snow, six, and Braylon Snow, five.

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Two women, including Elkins’s wife Shaneiqua Pugh, were seriously wounded and left in critical condition.

Family members said Elkins had been struggling with the impending end of his marriage. Shaneiqua Pugh had sought a divorce and the couple were due to appear in court the following day.

Relatives later revealed that Elkins had spoken of dark thoughts and suicidal feelings in the weeks leading up to the attack.

Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Christopher Bordelon said detectives were confident the shootings were entirely a domestic case.

Elkins first shot his wife before turning the gun on the children at two separate addresses.

He then fled in a stolen car, leading officers on a pursuit into neighbouring Bossier Parish where he was fatally shot.

Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said he was taken aback by the scale of the violence. “My heart is just taken aback,” Smith told reporters. “I just cannot begin to imagine how such an event can occur.”

Mayor Tom Arceneaux described the killings as maybe the worst tragic situation the city had faced in recent memory.

The father kills eight children case was recorded as the deadliest mass shooting in the United States in more than two years.

Elkins had previously served in the Louisiana Army National Guard between 2013 and 2020 and later worked for the UPS delivery service.

He had a 2019 conviction for illegal use of weapons but police said they were unaware of any prior domestic violence history. Colleagues described him as a devoted father who often appeared stressed.

The period around separation has long been recognised as a time of heightened risk in cases of domestic conflict.

Research shows that most children who die in mass shootings in the United States are killed by family members.

Louisiana health officials have previously identified intimate partner violence as a significant public health concern in the state.

Community vigils followed the attack as residents laid flowers and soft toys at the scenes. Support services were offered to the surviving relatives, classmates and first responders.