From USA TODAY.

Authorities are trying to piece together information as to why a gunman opened fire on Sunday and killed eight children in the nation’s deadliest mass shooting since January 2024.

The shooting left the historic riverfront city shaken and looking for explanations.

"I just don’t know what to say, my heart is just taken aback," Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said, adding that the attack is unlike anything he’s ever seen in his more than four decades in law enforcement.

Police said the suspect, identified as Shamar Elkins, also shot the mother of his children and another woman, both of whom survived with serious injuries. Elkins then fled the scene on foot and stole a car at gunpoint, leading to a police chase that ended with Elkins being pronounced dead, according to police.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/04/20/shreveport-mass-shooting-updates–live/89695086007/

🎥: REUTERS