The eight young children gunned down early Sunday by their deranged Army veteran father and uncle in a harrowing domestic violence massacre in Louisiana have been identified.
The children were formally identified by their mothers, according to a news release from the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office. All eight – five girls and three boys – were killed by 31-year-old Shamar Elkins when he went on a rampage through Shreveport around 6 a.m. Sunday after an argument with his wife.
Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariah Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5 were all found dead in their Shreveport home.
According to local officials, Elkins was the father of seven of the children and was an uncle to the eighth victim. It is unclear which of the eight dead was the cousin.
Most of the victims were shot in the head while they slept, according to Shreveport Police Department spokesman Christopher Bordelon told NBC News.
One child was killed on the roof while trying to escape, police said.
Elkins, who was later killed by police during an attempted carjacking, also shot and wounded two women – the mothers of his children – during his murderous rampage.
One victim, Elkins’ wife, was shot in the face in the home with the eight children, Bordelon told the newspaper. The other injured victim is believed to be Elkins’ girlfriend, who was shot at a separate home nearby, he added.
The killer’s father shared four of the murdered children with his wife and three with the other injured woman, according to Crystal Brown, one of the surviving women’s cousins.
Elkins and his wife were in the middle of divorce proceedings and were scheduled to appear in court Monday, Brown said the associated press.
The couple was arguing about their relationship when Elkins opened fire, she added.
Brown described all the children as “happy kids, very friendly, very sweet.”
Hours before the murders, Elkins shared a photo of himself “on a little 1 on 1 date” with his eldest, Sariahh.
At Easter he also posted a photo with all seven children outside a church. He wrote that it was the “first time” he went to Mass “with all my children.”
The two surviving mothers are both in critical condition.
