Community grapples with the deaths of 8 children in domestic violence incident : NPR
Authorities in Shreveport, Louisiana, continue to investigate the shooting deaths of eight children. Police say the killings are linked to domestic violence.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Residents of Shreveport, Louisiana, held a candlelight vigil Monday, the day after a man fatally shot seven of his children and his nephew. Police say it started with a domestic dispute. The suspect died after a carjacking, chase and shooting. From Red River Radio in Shreveport, Jeff Ferrell reports.
JEFF FERRELL, BYLINE: At a news conference Monday, Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said the suspect, Shamar Elkins, 31, was known to police.
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WAYNE SMITH: I will say his name was actually in our system.
FERRELL: In 2019, Elkins was arrested and later convicted for firing a gun near a school while children were outside. Because of the crime, he was not allowed to possess a firearm. Police say he used an assault weapon to shoot and kill eight children and injure two women, one of whom was his estranged wife. Her family says she left him a few days before the shooting. Smith says federal officials are investigating how Elkins obtained the gun. The killings raised awareness in the community about domestic violence prevention and mental illness, which Elkins’ family says he struggled with. Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux made an impassioned plea.
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TOM ARCENEAUX: If you are experiencing abuse and violence in your home, seek out resources. Don’t stay where you are. Look for resources to escape.
FERRELL: Both schools where the children attended offer counseling. Superintendent Keith Burton said he saw a classmate of one of the victims, who was in kindergarten, walking silently down the hallway Monday morning.
KEITH BURTON: And as she walked into this calming room, this advice, this safe place, she didn’t speak to anyone. She simply laid her head on the shoulder of one of these counselors and cried.
FERRELL: Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry came to Shreveport last night and announced that a foundation run by his wife would fund the children’s funerals.
For NPR News, I’m Jeff Ferrell in Shreveport, Louisiana.
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