A man believed to have killed eight children, seven of whom were his own, told his family that he was drowning in “dark thoughts” as recently as this month, according to a report.
Shamar Elkins, 31, carried out the shootings early on Sunday morning in Shreveport, Louisiana. In addition to killing eight children, Elkins critically wounded two women, according to Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Chris Bordelon.
The suspect later died following a brief police chase, Bordelon said.
Mahelia Elkins, the suspect’s mother, and Marcus Jackson, the suspect’s stepfather, told The New York Times that Elkins had called them both on Easter Sunday.
During the conversation, Elkins said through tears that he wanted to take his own life and that his wife, Shaneiqua Pugh, wanted a divorce. He added that he was drowning in “dark thoughts” as the sounds of his children playing could be heard in the background.
“I told him, ‘You can beat stuff, man. I don’t care what you’re going through, you can beat it,” Jackson said. “Then I remember him telling me, ‘Some people don’t come back from their demons.’”
As the call ended, Elkins promised to tell his children that their grandparents, who live in Oklahoma City, said “hello.”
Mahelia also told The Times that she and her son did not have a close relationship for most of his life, and that they had only reconnected just over a decade ago. She had given birth to her son while still a teenager and was battling an addiction to crack cocaine at the time.
Elkins was raised by a family friend named Betty Walker, she said.
Walker told the newspaper that she last saw Elkins last weekend, when his family joined her for dinner. According to her, nothing appeared to be amiss at the time.
“I was getting up this morning to make myself some coffee, and I got the call,” she said. “My babies… my babies are gone.”
Bordelon, the police spokesperson, told reporters that authorities responded to the shooting just after 6 am on Sunday.
Elkins attacked one of the women at one address before traveling to a second home, where he killed the children.
Many of the youngsters appeared to have been shot in the head while they slept, Bordelon said.
Seven of the children were found dead inside the home. The eighth was found dead on a back roof, Bordelon added.
A ninth child, age 13, escaped from the home with injuries, police said.
After carrying out the killings, Elkins carjacked a vehicle in order to flee the area.
Police officers gave chase and opened fire on the gunman during the pursuit.
“Officers were forced to discharge their department-issued firearms, neutralizing the suspect, who was pronounced deceased at the scene,” the Shreveport Police Department wrote in a statement.
Jackson, Elkins’ stepfather, told The Times that he realized something had happened when he saw strangers writing that Elkins was “the devil” on Facebook.
Then, Mahelia Elkins took out her phone and read a headline confirming that her grandchildren were dead.
“Why God,” she said. “Why?”
Elkins posted a prayer on Facebook earlier this month, asking God to “help me guard my mind and emotions,” the newspaper reported.
The suspect also sent his mother a photograph of his family, telling her that “everyone is doing OK,” when she replied by asking how they were.
“I love y’all,” the mom messaged her son on Thursday. “Give my grandson and my granddaughters a kiss from grandma. Thanks so much.”
The Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office identified the eight children in a statement obtained by KSLA. 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, were all killed in the incident, according to the coroner’s office.
Crystal Brown, a cousin of one of the women allegedly wounded by Elkin, told the Associated Press that the suspect and his wife were due in court on Monday.
The couple was in the midst of a contentious separation, Brown said.
According to her, Elkins shared four children with his wife and three with another woman who was also shot. She described each of the children as “happy kids, very friendly, very sweet.”
The attack was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States in more than two years, according to the AP.
Records obtained by The Times revealed that Elkins had two prior convictions, including one for driving while intoxicated in 2016 and another for the illegal use of weapons in 2019.
A police description of the second incident, viewed by the publication, stated Elkins had pulled a 9mm handgun from his waistband and had shot at a car five times. The driver reportedly also had a handgun.
One of the bullets fired by Elkin was found near a school where children were playing outside.
Willie Vasher, who worked with Elkins at UPS, told the newspaper that the suspect appeared to be a devoted father. He did note, however, that Elkins had a bald spot on his head because of his tendency to nervously pull out his hair throughout the day.
Elkins served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from 2013 to 2020, a military official told USA Today. He was never deployed and left the Army as a private after serving as a signal system specialist and a fire support specialist.
At a Monday morning press conference, Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux told community members: “If you are experiencing abuse and violence in your home, seek the resources, don’t stay where you are. Seek the resources to escape.”
“The biggest lesson that we have is that we must protect those who cannot protect themselves. There are resources available, take advantage of those resources. We mourn for these children, we mourn for the women who are recovering. We hope, we pray for their recovery and healing, and we ask that the community draw together to give support to these families and these victims,” he said.
The shooting has impacted the “entire community,” Shreveport City Council member Grayson Boucher explained.
“These children went to school all over the city. Just think of the trickle down effect for the small kids that were looking forward to seeing their friend come to school today and having to learn that the child had passed away, that their best friend had passed away. That's a hard pill to swallow for a small child,” Boucher said.
“So first and foremost, please pray for this family. Continue to pray for this family,” he added.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you. In the UK, people having mental health crises can contact the Samaritans at 116 123 or jo@samaritans.org
