SHREVEPORT, La. — Investigators are looking into how a former National Guardsman identified as the gunman who killed eight children in Louisiana on Sunday got a gun — despite an illegal firearms conviction on his record.
Shamar Elkins had recently sought mental health treatment from the local Veteran Affairs medical center, staying for a week and a half, according to his brother-in-law, Troy Brown. The Overton Brooks VA Medical Center did not immediately respond to an emailed list of questions.
Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is probing how the man obtained the assault-style pistol used in the shooting, which he described as a domestic violence incident.
The ATF declined to comment.
Elkins was arrested in 2019 and convicted of illegal use of a firearm. Shreveport Police spokesman Christopher Bordelon said Elkins was likely prohibited from legally owning firearms because of that conviction.
In an interview, Bordelon said Elkins shot most of the children in the head and "probably still in their sleep." Elkins was the father of seven of the eight children who were killed, Bordelon said; one of the children was a cousin, according to the coroner’s office.
“It is a disgusting and evil scene,” Bordelon told NBC News.
Elkins also shot and seriously injured his wife and another woman believed to be his girlfriend, police said.
Shamar Elkins had recently sought mental health treatment from the local Veteran Affairs medical center, staying for a week and a half, according to his brother-in-law, Troy Brown. The Overton Brooks VA Medical Center did not immediately respond to an emailed list of questions.
Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is probing how the man obtained the assault-style pistol used in the shooting, which he described as a domestic violence incident.
The ATF declined to comment.
Elkins was arrested in 2019 and convicted of illegal use of a firearm. Shreveport Police spokesman Christopher Bordelon said Elkins was likely prohibited from legally owning firearms because of that conviction.
In an interview, Bordelon said Elkins shot most of the children in the head and "probably still in their sleep." Elkins was the father of seven of the eight children who were killed, Bordelon said; one of the children was a cousin, according to the coroner’s office.
“It is a disgusting and evil scene,” Bordelon told NBC News.
Elkins also shot and seriously injured his wife and another woman believed to be his girlfriend, police said.
