Eight children were killed in a mass shooting that unfolded across multiple locations in Shreveport, Louisiana on Sunday morning, in what the city’s mayor described as possibly the worst tragedy in its history.
Shreveport police spokesperson Christopher Bordelon said officers responded to the 300 block of West 79th Street shortly after 6 a.m. following reports of a domestic disturbance. The crime scene stretched across two homes on West 79th Street and a third on nearby Harrison Street.
“You have three different scenes, the shooting itself occurred just down the road over here, the 300 block of West 79th,” Bordelon said. “There’s also another shooting related to this on Harrison Street.”
Ten people were shot in total. Eight of the victims — aged between one and 14 years old — were killed. Two adult women were wounded and taken to hospital.
After the shootings the suspected gunman carjacked a vehicle near the corner of West 79th and Lynnwood and fled the scene. Shreveport police pursued the car into Bossier Parish, where officers shot and killed him. Bordelon said investigators believe he was the sole gunman and that “some of the children” in the homes were his descendants. A motive has not been established.
Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux called it “maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had in Shreveport.” Louisiana State Police have joined the investigation, which is ongoing.
