Louisiana police have named the gunman who killed seven of his own children and an eighth child and critically wounded their mother and another woman in an early morning attack.

Shreveport Police Department spokesman Chris Bordelon said Shamar Elkins, a former member of the Louisiana National Guard, opened fire at home during a domestic disturbance with his 34-year-old wife Shaneiqua Pugh,

He then drove to another house before killing eight children, seven of whom were his own.

The victims ranged in age from one to about 12 years old. Pugh and the other woman are in critical condition.

Elkins, 31, died after a police pursuit.

Accused gunman Shamar Elkin surrounded by children. Photo: Facebook

Bordelon said there was still much to investigate but detectives were confident Sunday’s shooting was “entirely a domestic incident”.

Bordelon said Elkins had been arrested in 2019 in a firearms case. He said police were not aware of any other domestic violence issues.

“This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” Bordelon said.

Officers fired at the suspect during a chase after he carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint while leaving the scene, Bordelon said.

Seven children were killed inside the second house, and one was found dead on the roof after apparently trying to escape. One boy, believed to be aged 13, suffered non-life-threatening injuries after jumping from the roof.

State Representative Tammy Phelps said some children tried to escape out the back door.

“I can’t even imagine what the police officers, first responders actually dealt with when they got here today,” she said.

Liza Demming, who lives two houses down from where most of the victims were shot, said her security camera captured video of the suspect running away along with the sound of two shots.

“That’s pretty much all I saw, was him running out of the house and the cars leaving,” she said.

Demming later went outside and saw the covered body of a child on the home’s roof. She said she did not know the gunman’s name.

“He looks like the dad that comes over here,” she said, adding that he was just with the children a few days ago.

Pastor Marty T Johnson sr, of a nearby Baptist church, owns one of the homes where the shootings occurred. He said a person who works for him had rented it to the family, but he had no dealings with them.

“I don’t really know them, I really don’t,” he said. “I do plan on having a prayer vigil for the family, and anything I can do, with so many children, to help them bury the children, I’m going to do so.”

The Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office released a statement on Sunday (local time) saying it was not yet releasing any of the children’s names because identification of the victims was pending.

It was the deadliest mass shooting in the US since eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb in January 2024, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.

Outside the house where one of the shootings occurred, officials appeared stunned, requesting patience and prayers from the community as they sorted through multiple crime scenes.

“I just don’t know what to say, my heart is just taken aback,” Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said.

“I cannot begin to imagine how such an event could occur.”

Tom Arceneaux, mayor of the city of about 180,000 people in north-western Louisiana, said it was “a terrible morning”.

“This is a tragic situation – maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had,” he said.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and US House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is from Shreveport, said in separate statements they were heartbroken and praised law enforcement for their response.

“We’re holding the victims, their families and loved ones, and our Shreveport community close in our thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time,” Johnson said

-AAP