Eight children dead in mass shooting after domestic dispute in Louisiana
Eight people died — all children — and two adult women were injured in a mass shooting early Sunday morning in Shreveport, La. File Photo by Justin Lane/EPA-EFE
April 19 (UPI) — Eight children were killed, and two more injured, in a mass shooting in Louisiana on Sunday morning that police said started as a domestic dispute.
The two survivors are both adult women, with one thought to have been in a relationship with the shooter, who was killed by police after stealing a car and leading them on a short chase, KSLA and NBC News reported.
Officials said they are still investigating the crime scenes to figure out what actually happened, as one of the two women has life-threatening injuries resulting from what is believed to have been a shot in the head.
Some of the children that were killed, who ranged in age from 1 year to 14 years, were related to the alleged shooter, police said.
“This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” Shreveport, La., Police Chief Wayne Smith told reporters.
Police responded to reports of a domestic disturbance on the 300 block of West 79th Street in Shreveport around 6 a.m. EDT to find the widespread crime scene.
The initial shooting, police said, occurred at two houses before the suspect attempted a carjacking around the block and then, after a chase, attempted to escape on foot but was shot and killed by police.
A fourth location, a house where one of the shooting victims ran to, is also part of the investigation.
“This is a tragic situation, maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had in Shreveport,” the city’s mayor, Tom Arceneaux, told reporters.
A motive for the shooting remains undetermined, police said.
