‘I can’t be strong for you’: Councilwoman shares tearful moment of vulnerability after Louisiana father kills 8 children

“I don’t know what people think in the crevices of their mind to want to harm another human being, let alone that of children,” said Shreveport Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor during a heartbreaking news conference.

Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor delivered a tearful plea to the community as she struggled to comprehend the tragic murders of 8 children in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Sunday.

“I can’t be strong for you. I think about the mother and what this family has lost. I think about this community and what this community has lost, and I don’t have the words to give you, and I’m sorry,” Taylor said heartbreakingly during a press conference after a Shreveport father fatally shot seven of his own children and another.

“I don’t know what people think in the crevices of their mind to want to harm another human being, let alone that of children who have their whole life ahead of them,” said Taylor, a Democrat who has represented District A since 2020.

As theGrio previously reported, 31-year-old Shamar Elkins went on a killing spree across three homes on Sunday, fatally shooting his seven children and another person in an execution-style manner. Their ages ranged between 1 and 14 years old. Elkins also shot his wife, 34-year-old Shaneiqua Pugh, several times. Pugh, who reportedly wanted a divorce, is hospitalized with serious injuries. Another woman shot by Elkins is reportedly hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said the killings, which marked the nation’s largest mass shooting since 2024, were “maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had.”

Councilwoman Taylor, distraught by Sunday’s murders and the overall violence in the city, said the fact that Sunday’s murders were domestic in nature made the killings “even more horrific for all the fighting that we do as it relates to this.”

“Maybe you can stand strong with this, but I can’t without shedding tears of traumatic pain. I pain and I grieve for this family. I grieve for the lives that are lost. And I’m asking you to please utilize every resource that the sheriff has brought forth now, when you know that these situations occur,” Taylor pleaded. “We cannot be and make this a joke. This is not a freaking joke. This is real, and this is the result when someone snaps.”

According to the New York Times, Elkins, who was fatally shot during a police chase, suffered from mental health problems and had suicidal thoughts. He was previously convicted in 2016 for driving while intoxicated and in 2019 for the illegal use of a weapon. The 2019 incident involved him shooting at a car after the driver of the car pulled out a handgun on him. 

Councilwoman Taylor urged the Shreveport community to seek out help to ensure the level of violence seen on Sunday never happens again.

“I’m going to ask the community, along with prayer, with every mental health consultant, counselor that is out here, this family and this community, need you. I need you. Because how do we get through this? How do we get to the next level?” she said. “It is real, and this is wrong, and these are the tragedies when there are domestic violence or domestic disturbances in our community.”