Eight youngsters killed in taking pictures as gunman opens fireplace at two properties
Children aged between 18 months and 14 years were reportedly killed in the Cedar Grove neighbourhood following a ‘domestic disturbance’ in latest US mass shooting
Eight children killed in chaotic mass shooting between two houses(Image: Shreveport Police Department )
Eight children have tragically lost their lives after a gunman targeted two homes in Louisiana, USA, according to officials. Shreveport Police reported that the children, ranging from 18 months to 14 years old, were killed in the Cedar Grove area following a “domestic disturbance”.
The shooting occurred around 6am on Sunday CDT (12pm BST), Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith confirmed. The alleged shooter, an adult male, was fatally shot by police during a car chase in Bossier Parish, as stated by Louisiana State Police.
Smith revealed that the attacker shot a total of 10 individuals. Two women are injured after being shot in the head, local TV station KTBS reports, and a young boy suffered injuries after leaping from a roof.
The initial shooting reportedly took place inside a residence on West 79th Street near Linwood Avenue in Shreveport. At least 30 police units were still at the scene at 10.30am CDT (4.30pm BST), according to KTBS, reports the Mirror.
Police have identified two additional linked shooting locations: one approximately a quarter of a mile away on Harrison Street in Monroe, and a third on Brompton Lane in Bossier Parish. It remains unclear whether any victims were killed at the Bossier Parish site or if it was where the assailant was later shot.
Authorities stated they were still collecting information about the crime scene. “This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” Smith said.
Louisiana State Police revealed their detectives have been requested by Shreveport Police to examine the incident. In a statement, state police confirmed no officers were injured in the shooting involving a police officer following a pursuit in Bossier City on Sunday morning.
State police are appealing for anyone with photographs, footage or information to provide it to detectives. This is the second mass shooting recorded in Louisiana so far this year.
Moreover, the US has recorded more than 110 mass shootings so far this year, according to widely cited monitoring data. The Gun Violence Archive (GVA) counts a “mass shooting” as an incident in which four or more people are shot, excluding the shooter.
The GVA reported that by March 31, there had already been 98 such incidents, leaving 115 people dead and 377 injured. The figures underline the pace at which shootings are occurring, with the total continuing to rise beyond that point in the year.
Longer-term data suggest some states repeatedly see higher totals than others.
By raw counts, large-population states including California and Texas frequently feature near the top of historic incident lists, while per-capita gun death rates are often highest in parts of the South, with states such as Mississippi and Louisiana regularly among the worst affected.
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