The tragic Shreveport incident sends shivers down the spine. Early Sunday morning, April 19, in the 300 block of West 79th Street, a domestic situation spiraled into one of the deadliest mass shootings in the US in more than two years. And when something like this happens in a neighborhood in Louisiana, it ripples from living rooms to locker rooms in Baton Rouge. That’s why LSU stepped in to acknowledge the grief. 

“Our LSU family extends our sincerest condolences to those directly impacted by the mass shooting in Shreveport that tragically took the lives of eight children, and to those who have been treated and are recovering at Oschner LSU Health Shreveport,” LSU System President Dr. Wade Rousse wrote in a statement on X through the school’s official page. 

This short statement carries weight because it shows a cultural pillar trying to process the unthinkable alongside everyone else. And what happened in Shreveport is as unthinkable as it gets. Eight children, ranging from just one-year-old to 14, lost their lives. Two additional individuals were injured, including a woman shot at a separate home on Harrison Street. 

Authorities believe a single gunman, identified as Shamar Elkins, was responsible for all the shootings. And the details only get more haunting. Police say the attacks began before sunrise. A woman was shot at a home. Then the suspect drove to another location, where the majority of the violence unfolded.


Christopher Bordelon of the Shreveport Police Department called it “an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen.” After the shootings, the suspect fled in a stolen vehicle, leading officers on a chase into Bossier Parish that ended when he was fatally shot by police on Brompton Lane. The investigation has since been taken over by the Louisiana State Police.

The motive behind this unthinkable crime is still unclear. Investigators, however, are confident that this was a domestic incident that didn’t stay behind closed doors and took innocent lives with it. According to reports, Elkins and his wife were in the middle of a separation and were due in court the next day. He shared children with two women, both of whom were connected to the homes involved. Those children who lived together under one roof were described as “happy kids, very friendly, very sweet.”

LSU Athletics stands with the victims and reminds everyone that this loss is tragic for the entire state of Louisiana. As the state mourns, leaders across the state come together to offer words of heartbreak and a search for answers.

Louisiana leaders come together to offer condolences

Tragedies like this don’t stay isolated. Now, state leaders and local officials aren’t holding back in their reactions. 

“Sharon and I are heartbroken over this horrific situation, and we’re praying for everyone affected,” Governor Jeff Landry wrote in a statement. “We’re deeply grateful to the law enforcement officers and first responders working tirelessly on the scene.”

“We have a hurting community,” Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux wrote. “We have hurting families… We all mourn with these families. I ask, it’s a Sunday morning. I ask all of you who are, who are listening, who might be able to. Pray at your services this morning for not just this family, for all the victims, for the victims who are at the hospital, and for the Cedar Grove community and for the community at large.”

Bossier Mayor Thomas Chandler called the loss “difficult to comprehend,” saying the futures of those children were taken too soon. Meanwhile, Caddo Parish District Attorney James E. Stewart gave one of the most direct statements of all.

“What began as a domestic dispute has ended in irreversible harm,” he said. “This reality underscores a truth we must continue to confront: domestic violence is not a private matter. It is a community issue with far-reaching consequences, often affecting the most vulnerable among us – our children.”

His statement is a reminder that what happened in Shreveport isn’t just a one-off tragedy. It’s part of a pattern that keeps repeating, often with the most vulnerable paying the price. But words can only go so far. And that’s what makes LSU’s response, and the broader reaction across Louisiana, feel so important. All that’s left are the people and the pain they’re trying to carry forward.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR