8 children killed in Louisiana shooting tragedy

The maniac who slaughtered seven of his children and one of their cousins in Louisiana on Sunday was set to do battle with his estranged wife in divorce court Monday.

Stress-riddled Army vet Shamar Elkins, 31, called his mom, Mahelia Elkins, and stepdad, Marcus Jackson, on Easter Sunday to tell them that his wife of two years, Shaneiqua Pugh, had filed for divorce — chillingly adding that he wanted to kill himself and was drowning in “dark thoughts,”

Jackson said he told his despondent stepson that he could overcome problems if he stood tough.

Shamar Elkins in uniform with his wife Shaneiqua Elkins.
Killer Shamar Elkins and wife Shaneiqua Pugh were embroiled in an ugly divorce when the massacre took place.Facebook/Shaneiqua Elkins
Elkins replied grimly, “Some people don’t come back from their demons,” Jackson recalled to the outlet.

The killer ended up shooting the eight children execution-style Sunday morning. He also turned his gun on Pugh, who was hit several times in the head and stomach, and the woman believed to be his girlfriend, Christina Snow, who was shot in the head. Kin identified Snow as the girlfriend, KSLA reported.

Pugh was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, officials said. Snow also was severely wounded.

Elkins had two previous convictions: for driving while intoxicated in 2016 and for the illegal use of weapons in 2019, the outlet said.

Shamar Elkins sits on a couch with children whose faces have been blurred.
Elkins fatally shot eight children execution-style, police said.Facebook/Shamar Elkins
In March 2019, a police report detailed that the National Guard vet pulled a 9mm handgun from his waistband and shot at a vehicle five times after a driver pulled a handgun on him — with one of Elkins’ bullets being discovered near a school where children were playing.

He also had a history of alluding to mental health struggles and marriage woes on Facebook.

“Dear God, Today I ask You to help me guard my mind and my emotions. When negativity arises, remind me to say, ‘It does not belong to me,’ in the name of Jesus,” Elkins wrote April 9.

A month earlier, he wrote on the social network, “Dads, if you could go back in time and have kids with a different woman but still have the same kids, would you do it?”

Police officers entering a house in Shreveport, Louisiana, tied to a mass shooting.
Police said the rampage began with a domestic disturbance inside a Shreveport, La., home.AP
The victims killed by Elkins have been 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.

Seven of the eight were his own children and the eighth was their cousin, though it was not immediately clear which of the victims was the cousin.

They were all found dead inside the Pugh family home in Shreveport.