A quiet Sunday morning in Shreveport, Louisiana, turned into unimaginable horror. Eight children lay dead inside a home—most shot while they slept. Their father, Shamar Elkins, was the shooter. Police ended the rampage by fatally shooting him after a chase.
The tragedy struck on April 19, 2026. Authorities responded to reports of multiple victims in a domestic disturbance. When officers arrived, they found seven children dead inside the residence. An eighth child was discovered on a back roof. Two women were wounded, including Elkins’ wife, Shaneiqua, who was shot in the face but survived. Another woman, believed to be his girlfriend, was also injured.
Shamar Elkins, 31, had shot a total of 10 people. Seven of the dead children were his own. The eighth was a family friend. The victims ranged in age from 3 to 11: 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. Many sustained gunshot wounds to the head.
Neighbors Wake to Chaos
One nearby resident, Jacob Castleman, described the terror. He heard gunshots close by and grabbed his own firearm to check outside. “My thought process was like, man, there’s no way that just happened behind our house,” he said. “It was just chaos. Nothing like I’ve ever experienced.” Sirens soon filled the air as police swarmed the scene.
Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Christopher Bordelon confirmed the domestic nature. “We know it’s domestic in nature, we know his wife is involved, and she is the mother of at least seven of the children, with the eighth being a family friend.”
Officers confronted Elkins, who was armed with a rifle-style pistol. They shot and killed him, ending the immediate threat. A small-caliber handgun was also involved in the violence. One child or teen reportedly reached an adjacent home and called for help.
What We Know

The shooting happened early on April 19, 2026, in a Shreveport neighborhood.
All eight children were killed in the same home.
Elkins fled in a carjacked vehicle before police stopped him.
The scene was described by some officials as “incredibly gruesome.”
Motive remains unclear as investigators continue their work.
Shamar Elkins was a U.S. Army veteran, according to multiple reports.

Why This Matters
For parents across America, this hits close to home. A father turning on his own children shatters the safest place we know—the family home. It stirs deep fears about mental health struggles, domestic tensions, and access to firearms in moments of crisis. Shreveport City Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor spoke for many when she said at a news conference, “I don’t know what people think in the crevices of their mind to want to harm another human being, let alone that of children who have their whole life ahead of them.”
Communities in Louisiana and beyond are now rallying with prayers, counseling offers, and calls for answers. Friends of the family spoke of needing “prayer” and “healing” in the face of such loss. The youngest victims had entire futures stolen—playgrounds, first days of school, family holidays that will never come.
Their names deserve to be remembered: tiny Jayla, just 3 years old. Bright-eyed siblings and cousins whose laughter once filled those rooms. A wife who survived but now faces a lifetime without her children.
In the end, one neighbor’s words linger in the silence that follows: pure shock at the chaos that erupted right next door. Shreveport will carry this grief for years. So will every parent who reads these names and holds their own kids a little tighter tonight.