Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
A warning, this story contains material that some listeners may find distressing.
TRANSCRIPT
In the US city of Shreveport, in Louisiana, police responded to a phone call before sunrise.
Corporal Christopher Bordelon - from the city's police department - says officers arrived at the house to find a confronting scene.
"Our officers responded, located the scene, located the eight individuals, the children that were dead. And they tried to provide aid where they could, but ultimately were unable to save any of them. There was a child that jumped off the roof. We were able to get him to a hospital, and he is expected to survive. There's also two adult females that were injured during this mass shooting. They are both in critical condition. We are hopeful that they will survive. One is significantly more critical than the other."
Police say the children targeted were between the ages of one to 12 years old.
Mr Bordelon says the gunman - identified as Shreveport resident 31-year-old Shamar Elkins - was shot by officers after a car chase.
He says there is still much to investigate, but detectives are confident the mass shooting was entirely a domestic incident.
"The suspect in this case, this is entirely a domestic incident. So the suspect shot the mother of the children first, then responded to this location and shot eight children, seven of which being his own. There was an additional child at this residence that was not akin to him. However, we're still working on relationships and whose parents who's...It's a very hectic scene. There's a lot to investigate, a lot of unpack, and we want to do the best we can to come up with a clear timeline, a clear reasoning. Even though cases like this, the reasoning will never be fully understood. And it's something that's a tragedy in our community, and we're going to do the best that we can to support those individuals involved and around and do the most we can and move forward."
Investigators are now collecting evidence across three homes where bodies were found; and Louisiana State Police are investigating the shooting by officers.
Mayor Tom Arceneaux says the incident has shocked the community of about 180,000 residents.
He says it is maybe the worst tragedy to ever impact the Shreveport community.
"It is very difficult, this is .A lot of times you have homicides that are people who know each other and are fighting with each other. This is totally an unprovoked circumstance, involving eight children. It lets you know that evil still exists in the world and that we need to be fighting everything we can to overcome that evil with good, to shed light in the darkness."
Nonprofit the Gun Violence Archive documents the number of mass shootings in the US, defining an incident as one in which four or more people are shot - not including the shooter.
This year, it says there have been at least 119 mass shootings - not including this shooting in Shreveport.
The Gun Violence Archive says the Shreveport mass shooting is the deadliest in the country in more than two years.
City councillor Grayson Boucher says more than 30 per cent of the murders in the city are connected to domestic violence.
"We've more than doubled our homicides in the city of Shreveport because of one act of domestic violence. We as a community - Black, white, Republican, Democrat - need to stand together and fight for what is right. This is nothing but pure evil. We can have a hundred new police cars, we can have a brand-new beautiful multi-million dollar police substation right up the road, but until we stop this violence, the cycle of violence, like I've said over and over again. So what I ask for all the citizens to do is pray for this family, pray for our city, pray for our, our country. Our country is riddled with evil right now."
In a statement, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry says he and his wife are praying for everyone affected.
Louisiana state Senator Sam Jenkins, whose district includes Shreveport, says the shooting underscores the need for more resources to combat domestic violence.
"We need to make certain that resources are going to be put in place, hopefully to prevent another incident like we witnessed here today. 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. I just wanna say to this community, I hope you see the concern and the care, and the genuine concern and care that have been expressed here by the leadership of this city, and we're going to be here for you and do what we can to assist in the days that lie ahead."
Mayor Tom Arceneaux says his office is supporting the establishment of a comprehensive domestic violence centre led by the Caddo Parish sheriff.
A prayer vigil is planned for Wednesday.
A member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, Tammy Phelps, says she will be supporting more mental health resources being made available, as efforts are directed to ensuring this doesn't happen again.
"To hear children escaping out of the back door, and as we often forget what they go through mentally as well, and how they responded so quickly to this community and our city as they do always. But again, all of the services that we can continue to offer, I know I vow myself and all of us here, whatever we can do to keep those services alive, and the education of what those signs look like, just identify them where we can help try to alleviate this type of situation again."
And for those seeking support in Australia, the sexual assault and domestic violence counselling hotline is 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
