The brutal massacre which took place across three locations in Louisianna was reported as the deadliest shooting in the US in over two years, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.
Two women were shot and injured, including the mother of the deceased children. Reports suggest that the gunman went to the first womans home and then went to a nearby house where he shot eight children, according to Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Chris Bordelon.
The children were aged between three and eleven years old.
The gunman has been identified as a thirty one year old man Shamar Elkins, who died after police shot him as he tried to escape in a carjacked vehicle.
"At the end of that pursuit, the suspect exited the vehicle with a firearm, and ultimately our officers were forced to neutralise the suspect," Mr Bordelon told reporters.
Mr Bordelon confirmed that seven out of eight of the children shot were the gunman's "own."
He continues to state that police are still actively investigating, trying to "determine the why."
"We do believe him to be the only individual that fired gunshots at these locations," Mr Bordelon said, naming the incident as a "domestic disturbance."
State representative Tammy Phelps said that some of the children attempted to escape through the back door. “I can’t even imagine what the police officers, first responders actually dealt with when they got here today,” she said at a conference.
According to reports, there were 9 children at the second residence. One child survived and is in hospital with non life threatening injuries.
Louisiana state Senator Sam Jenkins expressed at the conference the need for more resources to combat domestic violence. "If we have someone with a history of domestic violence, let's make sure that those resources, that intervention is there on a continuous and consistent basis, hopefully to avoid what we've seen here today," she said.
