US: 8 children killed in Louisiana domestic violence mass shooting

In USA, a gunman in Louisiana killed eight children in domestic violence shootings at two different homes early Sunday, police in Shreveport said. It was the nation's deadliest mass shooting in more than two years. “This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” said Chris Bordelon, spokesperson for the Shreveport Police Department.The victims ranged in age from one to about 14 years old, Bordelon said, and some of the children were related to the suspect. A total of 10 people were shot.
The suspect, whom Bordelon identified as Shamar Elkins, died after a police pursuit. Officers fired at the suspect during a chase after he carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint, Bordelon said. Investigators did not say what may have set off the violence. Bordelon said there was still much to investigate, but that detectives were confident the shooting was “entirely a domestic incident”. “This is a tragic situation; maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had,” Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said.
It was the deadliest mass shooting in the US since eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb in January 2024, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. The Gun Violence Archive lists at least 119 mass shootings in the United States this year, resulting in 117 deaths, including 79 children, and 458 people injured. The archive defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people, not including the shooter, are injured or killed by gunfire. The United States had 407 mass shootings last year, according to archive data.