Mother Still Talks About Her Children Following Shreveport Incident – Her Heartbreaking Words

In the aftermath of the Shreveport tragedy, one detail has left people especially shaken. It is not just the violence itself, but what those closest to one grieving mother say is happening as she tries to recover.

In the hours before the violence that stunned Louisiana, there were no public signs of what was allegedly coming next. There was just social media, family snapshots, and the kind of everyday language that now reads very differently…

The Morning That Left a City Reeling

According to KSLA News' report, authorities say eight children were shot and killed in a domestic violence incident in Shreveport's Cedar Grove neighborhood on Sunday morning, April 19, 2026. Police identified the suspected gunman as 31-year-old Shamar Elkins. Authorities said seven of the children were his, while one was not.

The victims, seven siblings and a cousin aged just three to 11, were identified 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.

Authorities said a 13-year-old boy escaped by jumping from the roof and survived with broken bones.

Two women also survived the shooting, though both were gravely wounded. Police said Shamar's wife was shot in the face, underwent surgery, and is expected to survive, while the other woman's condition was described as very serious. Additionally, a third woman is believed to have escaped from the incident.

Police said the violence began on Harrison Street, where Shamar's wife was reportedly shot. Investigators then said he went to a second home on West 79th Street near Linwood, where another woman and the children were shot.

Investigators said the violence stretched across four locations, including two homes, a reported carjacking scene, and the Bossier City location where the chase ended. After the chase from Shreveport into Bossier City, police said Shamar was fatally shot in the 400 block of Brompton Lane.

Authorities noted that gunfire was exchanged, and investigators are still working to determine whether he died from police gunfire or from a self-inflicted wound.

Officials have not announced a confirmed motive, and that uncertainty has only made the personal details surrounding Shamar's final days feel even more haunting.

One of the Mothers at the Center of This Shattering Loss

According to NBC News, the second Louisiana woman, named Christina Snow, whose condition was described as very serious, is now in the hospital after the violent weekend rampage that stunned Shreveport. Among the children killed were her two young sons and daughter.

At first glance, the facts are already devastating enough. But relatives say the emotional toll of what Christina is now enduring makes the story even more difficult to absorb.

Her cousin, Jamarckus Snow, described her as a mother whose world revolved around her children. "All she worked for was her kids and all she talked about was her kids," he said. "It's devastating."

That single sentence says so much: It paints the picture of a woman whose identity, routine, and heart were deeply tied to being a mom.

Christina was reportedly shot in the face during the incident. Her cousin said he was told by Christina's mother that the bullet went through her nose and remains lodged in her face because doctors did not want to risk surgery.

A Family Member's Words Reveal Just How Cruel This Aftermath Has Been

Even as she survives the physical trauma, relatives say she is also facing memory loss issues. And that is where this story becomes almost unbearably sad. Jamarckus said Christina can talk, but her memory is inconsistent from one moment to the next. Some days, she understands the truth of what happened.

Other times, she reportedly wakes up still living in the version of life where her children are here. "One day, she'll remember they're dead. I heard yesterday she woke up and was like, 'I got to get my kids ready for school.' She'll lose memory of what happened," her cousin said. "One day, she'll know, and the next day, she's thinking her kids is [sic] still there."

Police said the violence began just before 6 a.m. on Sunday on Harrison Street when a woman called dispatch and said her boyfriend had shot her, taken her children, and fled. Authorities are still investigating what led up to the shootings.

Federal prosecutors later arrested a man in connection with the firearm allegedly used in the attack. Relatives told the outlet that Shamar had recently sought mental health treatment through the local Veterans Affairs medical center, where he reportedly stayed for more than a week. Even with that context, family members said they did not see this coming.

Jamarckus said he did not know much about Christina's relationship with Shamar, though he remembered seeing him around family gatherings. He described him as distant and reserved, someone who would sit by himself or stay in the car rather than socialize.

"The times I did see him or [sic] I did go by her house or something, he had the kids," Jamarckus said. "He spent time with them, [sic] he was there for them. I can't say that he didn't love his kids because he did. It was unexpected."

That contradiction is one of the most disturbing parts of all: A man remembered as present with his children is now at the center of allegations so horrific that they have left an entire community searching for answers.

For now, Christina's recovery continues in the hospital. But the words shared by her cousin have already made painfully clear that surviving such an atrocity is only one part of the battle.

The other part is what happens when memory fades, returns, and fades again. And in those moments, by the sound of it, she is still doing what she always did — talking about her children, thinking about her children, and trying to care for them.

Who Was Shamar Elkins?

Before this tragedy, Shamar appeared to many people to be living a deeply domestic life. There were photos, posts, and family milestones that painted a picture of a father surrounded by children and routine.

As NBC News reported, Shamar served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from August 2013 to August 2020 as a signal support system specialist and a fire support specialist. The Army said he never deployed and left service as a private.

NBC also noted that Shamar had a 2019 arrest and conviction for illegal use of a firearm. Shreveport police said that the conviction likely prohibited him from legally owning firearms.

That detail now hangs heavily over everything that followed. So does the fact that neighbors said the family had only moved into the home about six months ago.

The Home and Family Life No One Had Looked Twice At

Freddie and Marie Montgomery, who live across the street, told NBC they did not know the family well, but nothing seemed obviously wrong from the outside. Freddie said he had waved at a man in the yard the day before, who had waved back, and the gesture seemed totally normal.

And then the tragedy occurred. Marie recalled the horror of watching officers remove the children from the house, calling it the worst thing she had ever seen.

“When we found out what had actually happened over there, it was just, just a shock," Freddie said. "There is no sense in this."

That contrast is what makes this story so unsettling. By several accounts, the public version of Shamar looked like a working father with a home, a wife, and a full house of kids.

His wife, Shaneiqua Elkins, had publicly celebrated their relationship not too long ago in a now-heartbreaking April 2025 anniversary post. "Happy 1st anniversary to us..... I thank you for everything that you did for me today I enjoyed every moment of it..... ❤️😍 Shamar Elkins ten long years and four beautiful girls. 😭😭🤣 what a time we had..... [sic]."

Meanwhile, an earlier Father's Day post from June 2023 showed him seated with children gathered around him. Shaneiqua's caption read, "Happy father's Day 💐.... you got to spend time with all of your kids and you enjoyed every moment of it....🥰 [sic]."

Those posts did not just document a relationship; they built a public image of family closeness, which makes what happened recently feel impossible to process.

The Private Pain No Facebook Post Showed

But behind that image, relatives told The New York Times that Shamar had been struggling. Family members said he had mental health problems and had recently expressed suicidal thoughts.

The Times reported that on Easter Sunday, Shamar called his mother, Mahelia Elkins, and stepfather, Marcus Jackson. They said he sounded despondent and told them through tears that he wanted to take his own life.

During that call, according to the report, he said his wife wanted a divorce. He also told his stepfather that he was drowning in "dark thoughts." Marcus recalled trying to talk him off a ledge: "I told him, 'You can beat stuff, man. I don't care what you're going through, you can beat it.'"

Then came the line that now feels impossible to read without a chill: "Some people don't come back from their demons," Shamar reportedly said.

The Times also reported that family members were still trying to process what they called an unimaginable collapse behind the scenes of what had looked, publicly at least, like an ordinary family life.

Shamar's mother said she was not extremely close to him for much of his early life. She said she had him as a teenager while struggling with addiction, and he was raised by a family friend, Betty Walker, before they reconnected years later.

Betty divulged she had seen Shamar just the weekend before, when the family came over for dinner. Nothing appeared off, she said, making the tragedy even more difficult for loved ones to comprehend.

The Times also reported that Shamar worked for UPS. A former co-worker, Willie Vasher, said he had seemed like a devoted father, though he often appeared stressed. Willie said one thing stood out: Shamar had a habit of nervously pulling out his hair throughout the day, leaving a bald spot. His mother reportedly noticed that tic too.

"All day I've been asking, 'What happened [sic],'" Willie said of the tragedy. It is the kind of stunned reaction that has echoed through nearly every account tied to this case.

There were also signs, at least privately, that relatives had been uneasy in recent weeks. The Times said Shamar had shared a prayer on Facebook earlier this month (April) that began, "Dear God, Today I ask you to help me guard my mind and my emotions."

A Final Post That Hits Very Differently Now

And then there was more…

In what now reads as a devastating final public breadcrumb, Shamar's last social media post before the incident appeared casual, joking, even upbeat. He wrote: "Lol!!!! Took my oldest on a lil 1 on 1 date had to catch her down bad ugh ugh........"

The post shows his daughter in the passenger seat, eating in what looked like an everyday fast-food moment. That image has become the story's most unsettling contradiction: a lighthearted dad post sitting just hours away from catastrophe.

There is something especially disturbing about how ordinary that post looks. No warning, no public unraveling, no visible sign of the horror that police say would follow.

The Message He Never Answered

And yet, according to the Times, the deeper warning signs may have been elsewhere — in private conversations, family concern, and a silence that followed one final message from his mother.

After he had recently sent a photo of his family and told his mother that "everyone is doing OK," she reached out again. On Thursday, she texted him: "I love y'all. Give my grandson and my granddaughters a kiss from grandma. Thanks so much."

He never replied. Then, Mahelia and Marcus knew something had gone terribly wrong after learning of the news via social media comments and headlines. "Why God. Why?" Mahelia exclaimed through tears.

A Grieving Community Searching for Words

As the city tries to absorb the scale of the horror, local leaders made clear just how deeply this case has shaken the community. Mayor Tom Arceneaux called it "maybe the worst tragic situation we've ever had," while also warning that the impact stretches far beyond the crime scenes themselves.

Shreveport police also described the killings in stark terms. Cpl. Chris Bordelon called it a "horrible act of violence unlike anything we've ever seen in our city."

City Council Chair Tabatha Taylor, speaking through tears in remarks reported by NBC, said the slain children "had their whole life ahead of them." She added, "This is the result when someone snaps."

Other leaders across Louisiana have echoed that grief. Even in official statements, there is a repeated message that this is not just a crime story — it is a community wound. Several leaders pointed directly to domestic violence, trauma, and the need for both prayer and practical support in the aftermath.

That larger context matters because this story is not only about what happened in a few terrifying hours. It is also about what people did not see, what loved ones feared, and what now looks, in hindsight, like a trail of quiet warning signs.

For many people following this case, which continues to be investigated, that may be the hardest part to shake: The last post was not rage-filled or ominous — it looked like love, lunch, and normal life.

Now, it sits beside anniversary tributes, Father's Day memories, and one unanswered text from a mother who signed off with affection. In the wreckage of this story, those ordinary words may be the ones that echo the longest.

At this time, we wish to extend our most heartfelt condolences to the mothers of the kids who were lost, Shamar's parents, their entire family, friends, all their loved ones, and the community as they mourn such a significant loss. We hope for their healing amid their time of grief. RIP to all the lives lost.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "help" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.