By Leah Douglas
April 19 (Reuters) – Eight children, with ages ranging from 1 to 14, were killed in a mass shooting on Sunday in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the suspected gunman was later fatally shot by police during a vehicle chase, local authorities said.
The incident was the latest mass shooting in the United States. Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Christopher Bordelon said at a news conference that some of the children were related to the suspected gunman, and that the shootings occurred in three residences.
Bordelon said at least 10 people total were shot, but did not provide details on the status of surviving victims.
The shooting occurred just after 6 a.m. on Sunday and is considered a domestic disturbance, Bordelon said.
The suspected gunman carjacked a vehicle after the shooting and died after police fired at the vehicle during a chase that went into neighboring Bossier Parish, Bordelon said. Louisiana State Police are investigating the officer-involved shooting of this individual, spokesperson Kate Stegall said.
Bordelon said the name of the suspected gunman would be released once the department has notified families of the victims.
“We do know that some of the children inside were his descendants,” Bordelon said.
“This is a tragic situation, maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had,” Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said.
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, a Shreveport native, posted on social media that his team was in touch with local police about the “heartbreaking tragedy.”
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry posted to social media that he and his wife “are heartbroken over this horrific situation, and we’re praying for everyone affected.”
Not including this weekend’s incident in Shreveport, the Gun Violence Archive lists at least 119 mass shootings in the United States this year, resulting in 117 deaths, including 79 children, and 458 people injured.
The archive defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people, not including the shooter, are injured or killed by gunfire. The United States had 407 mass shootings last year, according to archive data.
(Reporting by Leah Douglas , David Ljunggren and Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Will Dunham and Sergio Non)
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