In Louisiana in the United States, a man shot and killed eight children, including his seven children.
On the 19th (local time), CNN and the New York Times (NYT) said that eight minors age 11 and under were killed in a shooting in Shreveport. The victims are three boys and five girls age 3 to 11. Of them, seven are the children of the shooter, Shamar Elkins, 31, and the other is their cousin.
Elkins's wife was the first to be shot, and another woman who was with the children is in critical condition. A 13-year-old boy jumped off a roof to escape the gunfire and suffered fractures, but his life is not in danger, reports said.
After the rampage, Elkins carjacked a vehicle and was killed by gunfire after a chase with police. Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said the incident occurred at about 6 a.m. that day and that there were three separate crime scenes.
Shreveport police authorities said they view the shooting as stemming from domestic discord, and that Elkins appeared to execute the victims.
The NYT, citing interviews with Elkins's relatives, reported that he had been experiencing suicidal impulses and that his wife sought a divorce. Elkins served seven years in the Louisiana National Guard until Aug. 2020. He was also arrested in 2019 in a firearms case.