The shooting occurred around 6:00 AM on Sunday in the Cedar Grove area of Shreveport. Police responded to reports of shots fired in the Cedar Grove community just after 6 a.m. CT, according to local reports. At least 30 police units were sent to the scene, multiple sources indicate. The first shots were fired at 06:00 local time, according to major media reports.
The victims are between 18 months and 14 years old. Two adult women and one teenager were also wounded in the shootings, police said. One of the female victims suffered life-threatening injuries after being shot in the head, according to major media reports. The women are both in critical condition, Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux stated, while the teenager has non-life threatening injuries, according to the mayor. An additional child was injured when jumping from a building during the shooting, multiple reports indicate.
Major media reports identify the suspected perpetrator as an adult man named Shamar Elkins, 31. According to these reports, Shamar Elkins opened fire at a home in Shreveport during a domestic disturbance. Investigators believe the person is related to at least some of the victims, research suggests, with some of the children being Elkins' descendants or related to him. The mayor said it’s believed the suspect had a relationship with one or both of the women, but it’s not clear. However, police did not identify the gunman or the victims, creating uncertainty about whether the suspect's identity has been officially confirmed.
The shooting unfolded across three different locations, according to high-confidence reports. Victims were found in two homes along West 79th Street and a third home on nearby Harrison Street, according to local reporting. The suspect fired shots in at least three residences in the area, multiple sources indicate. Elkins performed a carjacking and led police on a high-speed chase before being killed. The suspect carjacked a vehicle and led police on a chase into the next parish, according to local reports.
Shameful.
Police chased the person responsible for the shooting and exchanged gunfire, Mayor Arceneaux stated. The vehicle was chased into Bossier Parish, and Shreveport police officers discharged their firearm, and that individual is deceased, according to official statements. The suspected perpetrator was shot dead by police. The suspect is deceased, the mayor confirmed. The Louisiana State Police are investigating the officer-involved shooting, research indicates. No officers were injured, state police reported.
Contradictions and unknowns persist regarding the suspect's identification and death. While major media has named Shamar Elkins, police have not officially identified the gunman. It is unclear whether the suspect died due to a self-inflicted wound or by police, Mayor Arceneaux stated. The exact cause of death remains unknown, as does the specific relationship between the suspect and the victims. The motive behind the shooting has not been disclosed, and it is unknown whether the suspect acted alone.
The home where the shootings occurred is owned by Pastor Marty T. Johnson Sr. of St. Gabriel Community Baptist Church, research indicates. According to apnews.com, Marty T. Johnson Sr. described that a person who works for him had rented the home to the family, and that he did not know the family who rented the home and never had dealings with them. There have been two other related shootings in the nearby area, multiple reports indicate.
This incident adds to the grim statistics of gun violence in the United States. According to Mass Shooting Tracker, 136 mass shootings have occurred in the USA so far in 2026, more than one per day. The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot, not including the shooter, research notes.
Unless the US lifts the blockade of Iranian ports.
Other recent shootings underscore the pervasive nature of this violence. In Iowa, a group of university students were injured in a shooting, multiple reports indicate. The 2011 shooting in Tucson, Arizona, where then-Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the head on Jan. 8, 2011, as she met with constituents at a grocery store, serves as a historical reference. Six people were killed and a dozen injured in addition to Giffords in that incident, research shows.
In international news, Ukraine's patrol police chief Yevhen Zhukov is resigning after yesterday's mass shooting in Kyiv that killed at least six and injured 14, according to major media reports. A video circulated showing two police officers running from the scene after hearing gunshots in Kyiv, multiple sources indicate.
Separately, at 17:15 on Sunday, SOS was alerted about a possible aviation incident in Hallberg municipality, Örebro County, Sweden, major media reports. A small propeller plane reportedly landed in a field in Hallberg municipality, possibly an emergency landing, according to these reports. Rescue services and ambulance are on their way to the plane incident site in Hallberg municipality, sources said.
In diplomatic developments, Iran announces it will boycott tomorrow's negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, unless the US lifts the blockade of Iranian ports. Iran considers the blockade of its ports a violation of the ceasefire and a war crime.
Additionally, former Norwegian diplomat Mona Juul is leaving the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs due to reporting on her connections to Jeffrey Epstein, major media reports. Mona Juul's children were bequeathed ten million dollars by Jeffrey Epstein, with the money previously frozen by US authorities, according to these reports.