Louisiana mass shooting leaves eight children dead

Eight children have been killed in a mass shooting in the US state of Louisiana, with the father of seven of the victims suspected of being the gunman.

The suspect is thought to have first shot a woman and then went to a nearby home where he killed the children, according to a Facebook post from Shreveport police.

Seven children were killed inside the house, while one was found dead on the roof after apparently trying to escape, said Christopher Bordelon, a spokesman for the force.

Another child jumped off the roof and was expected to survive after being taken to hospital.

The victims were three boys and five girls, aged from three to 11, according to the Caddo Parish Coroner's office.

They were "happy kids, very friendly, very sweet," said Crystal Brown, a cousin of one of the women who was shot.

Two women were taken to hospital. One sustained life-threatening injuries, Mr Bordelon told local TV station KSLA.

After the shooting, the suspect, identified as 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, hijacked a man's car at gunpoint, police said.

He was killed after a police chase that ended with officers firing on him, according to Mr Bordelon.

Seven of the eight children killed were his.

It was the deadliest mass shooting in the US in more than two years, since eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb in January 2024.

"This is a tragic situation, maybe the worst tragic situation we've ever had," Shreveport mayor Tom Arceneaux said.

At a news conference, Louisiana state senator Sam Jenkins said the shooting underscored the need for more resources to deal with domestic violence.

"If we have someone with a history ​of domestic violence, let's make sure that those resources, that intervention is there on ​a continuous and consistent basis, hopefully to avoid what we've seen here today," he said.

Mr Bordelon said police were familiar with Elkins, who had been arrested in a 2019 firearms case, but officials were not aware of any other domestic violence issues.

Excluding the shooting in Shreveport, the Gun Violence Archive has recorded at least 119 mass shootings in the US so far this year, resulting in 177 deaths, including 79 children, and 458 people injured.

It defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people, not including the attacker, are injured or killed. The US had 407 mass shootings last year.

(c) Sky News 2026: Louisiana mass shooting leaves eight children dead