The man who is suspected of carrying out the mass shooting that killed eight children, seven of them his own, in Shreveport, Shamar Elkins, had previously served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from 2013 to 2020, Army officials say.
Elkins, 31, however, was never deployed and left the Army as a private, the official told USA Today.
In 2019, he was arrested and convicted for the illegal use of a firearm.
Two days before he carried out the mass shooting, he had posted multiple images of his children on his Facebook account. On Easter, he posted a photo of himself posing with his seven children. "Happy Easter had a wonderful time at church for the first time with all my kids what a blessed day," the caption read.
Before the children were killed, Elkins had also shot two women, his wife, Shaneiqua Elkins and a woman who is believed to be his girlfriend at two different homes. Both were seriously injured. His wife was shot in the face, police spokesperson Christopher Bordelon said.
Authorities described the crime as domestic in nature. Many of the children were shot in the head.
Shaneiqua and Elkins had been married for 10 years. They had four daughters together. He also had three more children with a woman who lived close by. All the children stayed in the same residence.
Elkins and his wife were reportedly in the middle of seperating and were due in court on Monday, according to Crystal Brown, a cousin of one of the women who were shot. They had been arguing before the shooting.
The crime scene spanned two residences next to each other and a third home nearby. "We have three crime scenes just here in Shreveport. One of them is incredibly gruesome in nature, and it’s going to take several hours to process," Bordelon said.
One of the women was shot on nearby Harrison Street before he headed to the West 79th Street, where he killed the children.
The weapon he used initially was a small-calibre handgun. When he was confronted by the police, he was holding a rifle-style pistol, Bordelon said
The children who were killed were three boys and five girls, ages 3 to 11. One of the children was a cousin, the coroner’s office told NBC News.
The children were mostly shot in their sleep. Bordelon said seven of the children were found dead inside the residence, and the eighth child "looked like he had tried to escape the residence out the back on the roof."
The children were identified 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, the office said.
One month before the shooting, Elkins had responded to a viral social media post that read, 'Dads, if you could go back in time and have kids with a different woman but still have the same kids, would you do it?'
He reposted the post saying, 'Hell yehhhhhhhh I would.' Many consider the post as the accused giving warning signs.
Shreveport, which is located five hours away from New Orleans, is a high-crime area known for violence. One in 82 people are victims to violent crime, according to a report by the Neighborhood Scout.
