Louisiana Shooter Sought Mental Health Care, Family Says

Relatives say the Louisiana father who gunned down eight children had recently turned to the VA for help with his mental health. Family members told the Washington Post that 31-year-old Louisiana National Guard veteran Shamar Elkins spent about 10 days at the local Veterans Affairs hospital for a psychiatric evaluation before being discharged in recent months. On Sunday, authorities say, he fatally shot eight children—seven of them his own—wounded three women and a child at multiple locations, then died after an exchange of gunfire with police following a car chase.

• Relatives describe no history of violence and say the impending end of his marriage may have been a breaking point. Elkins and his wife, Shaneiqua Pugh, were due in court Monday in a divorce case. "I think that triggered something in him," said Crystal Brown-Page, a cousin of his brother-in-law, adding that there had been no recent arguments.
• Pugh and her sister, Keosha, were both injured; family say Pugh has been asking about her children from her hospital bed. The victims, ages 3 to 11, included four of Pugh's children, three children of Christine Snow, and Elkins' 10-year-old nephew.
• Shreveport City Council members James Green named the victims at a press conference Monday, Fox News reports. "Today, we pause to honor the lives that were lost and families forever changed," he said. "Today we remember Jayla Elkins, age 3, Shayla Elkins, age 5, Kayla Pugh, age 6, Layla Pugh, age 7, Markaydon Pugh, age 10, Sariahh Snow, age 11, Khedarrion Snow, age 6, Braylon Snow, age 5." Relatives say the youngest victim was small for her age, which may be why she was initially described as younger, the Post reports.

• Elkins had a felony firearms conviction on his record and officials are investigating how he obtained the assault-style weapon he used in the mass shooting. He pleaded guilty in 2019 to illegal use of weapons. Under Louisiana law, he would have been banned from owning firearms until at least 10 years after he completed probation, the AP reports.
• At Monday's news conference, state and local officials called for greater efforts to help victims of domestic violence, reports NBC News. "We cannot afford to treat domestic violence as an afterthought. We must ensure that every victim, every mother, every father, every child has access to safety," said Caddo Parish Sheriff Henry L. Whitehorn Sr.