Louisiana shooter made chilling comments about ‘demons’ before killing his 7 children | World | News

The man responsible for the horrific Louisiana mass shooting made a chilling reference to “demons” before opening fire on eight young children.

Shamar Elkins, 31, admitted to feeling suicidal before carrying out the devastating daytime attack in which eight children – reportedly aged between one and 14 – were killed in Shreveport on Sunday, following an early morning row with his wife. The father is believed to have murdered seven of his own children during the assault, in which the Shreveport Police Department confirmed his wife was left in a critical condition.

Weeks before the Louisiana bloodbath, Elkins had confessed to being consumed by “dark thoughts” and warned his stepfather that some people “don’t come back from their demons”.

Speaking to the New York Times, family members revealed that Elkins, who had a troubled mental health history, had voiced suicidal thoughts during a telephone conversation with his stepfather. Mahelia Elkins said she and her partner, Marcus Jackson, had received a call from Elkins on Easter Sunday, during which their son had sounded utterly without hope.

With the cheerful sounds of his eight children audible in the background, Ms Elkins recalled that her son had told his stepfather that his wife wanted a divorce and that he wished to end his own life. Mr Jackson said he had attempted to reassure his son, telling him he could “beat it”, before an increasingly despairing Elkins pushed back. The father said: “I told him, ‘You can beat stuff, man. I don’t care what you’re going through, you can beat it. Then I remember him telling me: ‘Some people don’t come back from their demons.'”

Elkins then ended the call, they said, and had mentioned he would pass on a greeting to his children’s grandparents, who reside in Oklahoma City, nearly 10 hours from Louisiana. The gunman was killed following a police pursuit that concluded with officers opening fire on him, according to Chris Bordelon, a spokesperson for Shreveport Police.

Authorities did not disclose what may have triggered the violence, but Bordelon stated that detectives were certain the shooting was “entirely a domestic incident”. The tragedy stands as the deadliest mass shooting in the US in over two years, sparking widespread national outrage.

Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said he was left “taken aback” by the events. He said in a statement: “I just don’t know what to say, my heart is just taken aback. I cannot begin to imagine how such an event could occur.”

Elkins was a military veteran who, following his death on Sunday, the Army confirmed had served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from August 2013 to August 2020. During his near decade-long service, he worked as a signal support system and fire support specialist, ultimately leaving the Army as a private without having been deployed.