8 Children Killed in Shreveport Mass Shooting, Police Provide Details
A domestic violence incident in Louisiana leaves eight children and teens dead; officials across the state and nation respond with grief and calls to action.
Eight children and teenagers were killed early Sunday morning in a mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana, in what authorities described as a “domestic in nature” incident that has shaken the city and drawn statements of grief and outrage from officials at every level of government. Ten people were struck by gunfire in total, according to Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Chris Bordelon, who addressed reporters at a news conference Sunday. The suspect, identified by police as Shamar Elkins, is also dead, killed by officers during a chase that ended in neighboring Bossier Parish. The ages of those killed ranged from 1 to approximately 14 years old.
Key Figures & Locations
What Authorities Say Happened
According to Bordelon and subsequent statements from the Shreveport Police Department, the events of Sunday morning unfolded across multiple locations within the city. The shooting began when Elkins allegedly shot a woman on the street. He then proceeded to a nearby residence, where all eight of the fatalities occurred. Police stated their belief that at least some of those shot were “descendants” of the suspect, though none of the victims were identified by name at the news conference. One victim managed to flee to an adjacent residence after being shot.
After the shootings at the residence, Elkins fled the scene and carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint. Officers pursued him out of Shreveport and into neighboring Bossier Parish, where police said Elkins was shot and killed after officers involved in the chase opened fire. Authorities said they believe Elkins was acting alone. Louisiana State Police said its detectives would investigate the circumstances of his death, as is standard protocol when officers fire their weapons.
“I couldn’t even begin to imagine how such an event could occur.”— Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith
Police Chief Wayne Smith said investigators would be “going through every piece of evidence at every scene” in order to understand the full sequence of events. The Louisiana State Police superintendent said detectives were “working to process the scene and gather further information.” Bordelon noted that two adult women were being treated for “serious injuries” and that a teenager sustained injuries not considered life-threatening.
Timeline of Events
Domestic Violence & Homicide in Shreveport
Shreveport Councilman Grayson Boucher offered stark statistical context at Sunday’s news conference, saying that more than 30 percent of crimes and more than 30 percent of murders in Shreveport were domestic in nature even before this incident. He stated that Sunday’s killings had “more than doubled” the city’s homicide count for the relevant period in a single act of domestic violence. Shreveport has historically struggled with elevated rates of violent crime relative to national and Louisiana-wide averages, a fact that informed Boucher’s framing of the tragedy as an acceleration of an existing crisis.
Sources: FBI Crime Data Explorer; Shreveport Police Dept. statements; Councilman Grayson Boucher, April 2025 press conference.
“We’ve more than doubled our homicide in the city of Shreveport because of one act of domestic violence.”— Councilman Grayson Boucher, Shreveport City Council
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said on X that multiple law enforcement agencies were investigating the incident, underscoring the cross-jurisdictional nature of a shooting whose consequences reached from Shreveport streets into Bossier Parish. Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux confirmed that some of the injured had been hospitalized and described the event as “a tragic situation, maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had in Shreveport.” He added: “We all mourn for these families.”
Political & Public Responses
The shooting drew an immediate outpouring of responses from political figures representing a range of perspectives. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said on X that he and his wife Sharon “are heartbroken over this situation” and that they were “praying for everyone affected.” U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy expressed that his “heart is with the Bossier Shreveport community as we mourn the innocent lives lost this morning” and wished “the surviving victims a complete and swift recovery.” House Majority Speaker Mike Johnson, whose congressional district includes Shreveport, called the events a “heartbreaking tragedy” in a post on X and said he was holding “the victims, their families and loved ones, and our Shreveport community close” in his thoughts.
Based on public statements issued April 20, 2025 by officials, advocates, and the White House.
Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, whose organization focuses on gun violence prevention, issued a statement describing the incident as “a devastating act of domestic gun violence, taking the lives of eight young children.” Giffords said: “My heart is breaking for their families, the survivors, and everyone in Shreveport today,” and added that “all of us should be outraged that we live in a country that routinely subjects our kids to such unimaginable violence.” The White House said it was monitoring the situation, according to a CBS News official.
“This is a devastating act of domestic gun violence, taking the lives of eight young children. My heart is breaking for their families.”— Gabby Giffords, Giffords Gun Violence Prevention Organization
- Shamar Elkins — Identified by Shreveport Police as the suspected shooter; killed by officers in Bossier Parish following a vehicle chase.
- 8 children and teens killed — Ages ranged from 1 to approximately 14 years old; none publicly identified by name.
- Police Chief Wayne Smith — Said investigators “couldn’t even begin to imagine how such an event could occur.”
- Mayor Tom Arceneaux — Called it “maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had in Shreveport.”
- Councilman Grayson Boucher — Stated Sunday’s deaths more than doubled the city’s homicide count in a single domestic violence act.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson — Represents Shreveport’s congressional district; called the shooting a “heartbreaking tragedy.”
- Gabby Giffords — Issued a call to action via her gun violence prevention organization, Giffords.
- The White House — Confirmed monitoring the situation; no policy statement issued as of first reports.
A Pattern of Domestic Violence
Boucher’s figures about the proportion of crimes linked to domestic violence in Shreveport place Sunday’s events within a persistent local challenge. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that approximately 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. Research from Everytown for Gun Safety has consistently found that the majority of mass shootings in the United States involve a current or former intimate partner or family member as a victim. Firearms are used in the vast majority of domestic violence homicides, and the presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation has been found to increase the risk of homicide significantly. Sunday’s events, in which police described the victims as likely “descendants” of the shooter and characterized the incident as domestic in nature, fit within this documented national pattern.
Louisiana has consistently ranked among the states with the highest rates of domestic violence-related homicide, particularly for women and children. Advocates in the state have long pressed for expanded access to protective orders, gun surrender laws for those subject to domestic violence injunctions, and increased funding for shelters and crisis services. Sunday’s mass shooting is expected to reignite those debates at the state and local level, though no specific legislative proposals had been announced as of Sunday afternoon.
The Investigation
Louisiana State Police said its detectives would lead the investigation into the circumstances of the suspect’s death, as required when officers fire their weapons. The Shreveport Police Department is conducting its own review of the primary crime scenes, which police said span multiple locations in the city. Chief Smith said investigators would examine “every piece of evidence at every scene.” The Louisiana Attorney General’s office confirmed that multiple agencies were involved in the investigation. Authorities had not yet announced a motive beyond the characterization of the incident as domestic in nature, nor had they publicly named any of the victims as of Sunday afternoon.
Sunday’s mass shooting in Shreveport has left a community in mourning, a city grappling with longstanding questions about domestic violence, and a nation once again confronting the circumstances under which eight children — the youngest just one year old — came to be fatally shot in a residential neighborhood before dawn. Officials from City Hall to the White House have offered condolences; whether those expressions of grief translate into policy action, at the state or federal level, remained an open question as investigators worked through the scenes of the deadliest domestic violence incident in Shreveport’s recent memory.
