One child managed to escape a family massacre in Louisiana over the weekend by leaping from the roof of the residence. The incident took place when crazed 31-year-old Army vet Shamar Elkins opened fire in the residence in Shreveport.
The disturbed father took the lives of seven of his children and one of their cousins during a violent outburst in the early hours of the morning. Elkins, who was in the midst of a divorce, also shot his estranged spouse and a girlfriend in the head before stealing a vehicle, which initiated a police pursuit that concluded with law enforcement fatally shooting him in the adjacent Bossier City. Both women managed to survive the attack.
Also Read: Who is Christina Snow? Shamar Elkins’ girlfriend wrote disturbing post about Louisiana shooter
Surviving child is 12-year-old girl
Christopher Bordelon, a spokesperson for the Shreveport police, informed PEOPLE that the 12-year-old girl sustained injuries after she escaped the scene and jumped from the roof during the event on Sunday, April 19.
Earlier reports suggested that the surviving child was a 13-year-old boy. However, Bordelon corrected this information on Monday afternoon.
“He had some injuries, some broken bones, but we do expect him to recover,” Bordelon had told KSLA. “We’re just very thankful he was able to get away.”
Is the surviving child’s Shamar Elkins daughter?
Bordelon informed PEOPLE in his revised statement that the girl was not a child of the suspect.
A total of eight children lost their lives in the mass shooting that took place shortly before 6 a.m. on Sunday at a residence in Shreveport, Louisiana.
According to Bordelon, seven of the children were discovered dead within the home — several of them in their beds — while the eighth child was found lifeless near the roof, with Bordelon suggesting that he was shot while attempting to flee.’
“There’s blood and bodies everywhere,” Bordelon stated to PEOPLE. “Some were shot in the bed, some were shot trying to get away.”
Shreveport shooting: What was killer’s motive?
On being asked about the killer’s motive, the the Shreveport police spokesperson said, “I think he just had it in his mind he was going to kill everybody in the house. I don’t think there was much thought processes to order. I don’t know that he necessarily had a plan other than just to kill everybody.”
He further stated that the suspect initially started to take the lives of children on the first floor, while others attempted to flee through a window located on the second floor that led to the roof of a garage.
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