Layla Pugh, a 7-year-old girl from Shreveport, Louisiana, died on April 19, 2026, in a mass shooting that authorities described as a domestic violence attack. She was one of eight children killed that morning in the Cedar Grove neighborhood, a tragedy that unfolded before sunrise inside a family home on West 79th Street. The children were identified as siblings and a cousin, ranging in age from 3 to 11, and Layla’s name was released alongside Jayla Elkins, Shayla Elkins, Kayla Pugh, Markaydon
Pugh, Sariahh Snow, Khedarrion Snow, and Braylon Snow.
Police said the suspected shooter was 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, the father of seven of the children who were killed. Authorities said the violence began as a domestic incident and spread across multiple locations in Shreveport. A 911 caller reported that she had escaped onto the roof while the armed suspect was still inside the home. Around the same time, another woman reported that Elkins had shot her at a different residence on Harrison Street and taken her three children before fleeing. Investigators later connected the Harrison Street shooting to the killings at the West 79th Street home.
Inside the West 79th Street residence, officers found the children fatally shot. Police said two women were also wounded by gunfire and hospitalized, while others were injured while trying to escape. A teenage boy reportedly jumped from the roof to get away from the violence. The surviving accounts painted a chaotic and terrifying morning, with family members fleeing, calling for help, and trying to survive as officers moved between scenes and tried to locate the suspect.
After the shootings, police said Elkins carjacked a red Kia Sportage and fled Shreveport. Officers spotted the stolen vehicle and pursued it across the Red River into Bossier City. The chase ended after an exchange of gunfire with police. Elkins died after that confrontation, though officials initially said investigators were still determining whether he was killed by police gunfire or died by suicide. Because of his death, he was not arrested or charged in court for Layla’s killing or the deaths of the other children.
Authorities later made an arrest connected to the weapon used in the attack. Federal prosecutors charged Charles Ford, a 56-year-old Shreveport man, with being a felon in possession of a firearm and making false statements to federal agents. Investigators said the firearm used by Elkins had been traced back to an original purchaser who told authorities she had given it to Ford. According to the federal allegations, Ford first denied having the gun, then admitted he possessed it and said he believed Elkins had taken it.
The federal case against Ford focused on how Elkins obtained the gun, not on charging Ford with the murders themselves. Prosecutors said Ford could face up to 15 years in federal prison on the felon-in-possession charge and up to five years on the false statement charge if convicted. Officials emphasized that the investigation was continuing, particularly into how a weapon ended up in Elkins’ hands despite his prior weapons conviction and Ford’s alleged status as a prohibited possessor.
Layla’s death became part of one of Shreveport’s darkest days, a family massacre that local officials described as almost beyond comprehension. What began as a domestic violence call ended with eight children dead, two women wounded, a suspect dead, and a second man facing federal charges tied to the gun. The case left the community grieving not only for Layla, but for all of the children whose lives were taken inside a home where they should have been safe.
