An unimaginable tragedy in Louisiana took place Sunday as a man, identified as Shamar Elkins, killed his seven children and their cousin before he was fatally shot by police during a car chase. Now, it’s been revealed he made chilling remarks about “demons” just weeks before the horrifying event.

Just after 6 am on Sunday, April 19, Shreveport police officers responded to a call regarding a domestic disturbance, police spokesperson Christopher Bordelon said.

In the house in Shreveport, Louisiana, police found eight children, seven of whom were children of suspect Shamar Elkins and one being his cousin, dead. Bordelon said most of the victims were shot in the head while they were sleeping. The suspect was identified as Shamar Elkins.

Elkins’ wife, as well as a woman believed to be his girlfriend, were also shot and seriously injured in the violence. The eight-year-old child reportedly tried escaping from the roof before he was shot.

The children who were murdered were three boys and five girls, ages 3 to 11, the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office said. Police had previously given their ages as about 1 to 14.

Their mothers identified the children as Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5.

Father kills 8 kids, including 7 of his own in mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana
“I just don’t know what to say. My heart is just taken aback,” Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith told reporters, per NBC News. “I just cannot begin to imagine how such an event can occur.”

State Rep. Tammy Phelps told the Associated Press that some children tried to escape through the back door.

“I can’t even imagine what the police officers, first responders actually dealt with when they got here today,” she said at a news conference.

Crystal Brown, a cousin of one of the wounded women, told AP that Shamar Elkins and his wife were in the middle of separating and were due in court Monday.

“He murdered his children. He shot his wife,” she said, describing all the children as “happy kids, very friendly, very sweet.”

Elkins was later killed by police during an attempted carjacking. According to a database maintained by AP in partnership with Northeastern University, the Shreveport killings were the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. since eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb in January 2024.

Suspect Shamar Elkin’s chilling remark weeks before killing 8 children
Now, new details about suspected killer Shamar Elkins have come to light.

According to a New York Times report, he had confessed he was drowning in “dark thoughts,” weeks before the heinous killings. He told his stepdad that some people “don’t come back from their demons.”

On Easter Sunday, Elkins had called his mother, Mahelia Elkins, and his stepfather, Marcus Jackson. He said he wanted a divorce from his wife and wanted to end his life.

“I told him, ‘You can beat stuff, man. I don’t care what you’re going through, you can beat it,’” Jackson told The New York Times. “Then I remember him telling me: ‘Some people don’t come back from their demons.’”

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family amid this horrifying tragedy.