8 children shot dead in Louisiana shooting

A gunman killed eight children — seven of them his own — and wounded two other people before being shot dead by police in the US state of Louisiana, media reports said on Monday.

The victims of the attack, which took place across two houses in Shreveport on Sunday morning, were between one and about 12 years old, according to Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Chris Bordelon, Al Jazeera reported.

The suspect, identified by Bordelon as Shamar Elkins, was killed following a police pursuit. Officers opened fire during the chase after he allegedly carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint, Bordelon said.

Investigators have not yet determined what triggered the violence. Bordelon said the case remained under investigation, but detectives believed the shooting was “entirely a domestic incident.”

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

He added that Elkins was known to police and had been arrested in 2019 in a firearms case. Officials said they were not aware of any previous domestic violence complaints involving him.