A gunman in Louisiana killed eight children
between the ages of 1 and 14 in domestic-related shootings at two different homes in the nation’s deadliest mass shooting in more than two years. Police in Shreveport said a total of 10 people were shot Sunday. Police spokesperson Chris Bordelon says the gunman died after a chase with officers who fired at the suspect. The suspect had stolen a car while leaving the scene of the shootings.Police didn't immediately
release the name of the suspect but did say he was an adult male.
Officials said they were still gathering details at crime scenes south of downtown Shreveport — two homes and a third location. Bordelon said some of the children shot were related to the suspect.
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Liza Demming, who lives two doors down from one of the shooting scenes, said her security camera captured video of the gunman running away toward a tire shop.
She said she could hear two shots on the audio.
“That’s’ pretty much all I saw, was him running out of the house,” she said.
Demming said she later saw one of the child victims, who had already been covered, laying on the roof of the house. But she said she never heard anything like a fight or argument.
“It was nothing loud, no altercations. It was quiet. Nothing,” she said.
Pastor Marty T. Johnson Sr. of St. Gabriel Community Baptist Church owns the home where the shootings occurred but says that he doesn’t know the family who rented the home and never had dealings with them.
Johnson says a person who works for him had rented the home to the family.
He said all he knows is from what he’s heard from news reports and from neighbors but that he’s ready to do whatever he can to help.
“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,” Johnson said.
“We’ve got to take our community back, and we will.”
That’s the reaction from U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, a Democrat whose district includes part of Shreveport.
In a statement, Fields says he is praying for two women injured the shootings.
Fields also expressed support for the several law enforcement agencies that are conducting what he calls “an extensive and deeply painful investigation.”
“A crime scene spanning four locations, eight children gone ranging in age from just one to fourteen years old — there are no words,” Fields says.
“Shreveport is a resilient community, and we will get through this together.”
“All of us should be outraged that we live in a country that routinely subjects our kids to such unimaginable violence,” said Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011.
“Our children have no option but to trust us to keep them safe, but our country is failing them every day,” she said in a statement. “Both Congress and Baton Rouge have a moral duty to do better. Our leaders must act—now.”
Giffords was shot in the head on Jan. 8, 2011, as she met with constituents at a grocery store in Tucson, Arizona. Six people were killed and a dozen injured in addition to Giffords.
She now advocates for gun control measures.
That's according to Bordelon.
“This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” he said.
“Heartbreaking tragedy in Shreveport this morning — 8 children were senselessly killed and multiple others were injured. My team is in touch with local law enforcement as more details emerge,” said U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is from Shreveport and represents part of northwest Louisiana.
“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. And we are grateful to the Shreveport, Bossier, and Louisiana State Police for their swift response,” Johnson said.
“We’re deeply grateful to the law enforcement officers and first responders working tirelessly on the scene,” Landry said in a statement.
In a statement, state police say no officers were harmed in the shooting that involved an officer after a police pursuit into Bossier City on Sunday morning.
State police are asking anyone with pictures, video or information to share it with state police detectives.
That’s according to police spokesperson Chris Bordelon.
“This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” he said.
That’s according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
In January 2024, eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb.
Officials appeared stunned outside the residence where one of the shootings occurred, 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.”
“This is a tragic situation — maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had,” said Tom Arceneaux, mayor of the city in northwestern Louisiana with about 180,000 residents. “It’s a terrible morning.”
