Online Reporter
Robson Sharuko
Metros Editor
ON April 5, Shamar Elkins posted a photograph of himself and his seven children on his Facebook page.
He told his 5,400 followers that he had celebrated Easter in the company of all his children at church.
“Happy Easter. I had a wonderful time at church with all my kids. What a blessed day.”
Two weeks later, everyone in that photograph, was dead.
Elkins shot and killed all his seven kids, and also killed another child, before he was shot and killed by police in the southern United States state of Louisiana on Sunday.
It’s the worst mass shooting in the United States in two years.
Elkins is reported to have been struggling to deal with a pending divorce from his wife and the massacre came on the eve of their court appearance.
He shot and wounded the mother of his kids while another woman was also shot and wounded.
The coroner’s office said the children who died are Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5.Five girls and three boys died in the shooting. “At this time yesterday afternoon, all of those kids were in the front yard playing. And he was sitting on the porch,” a neighbour, Freddie Montgomery, 72, told US media.
A review of Elkins’ posts on social media reveals a complex character.
He posted that he wants to “understand to be misunderstood.”
Then, in another post, he said:
“Shout out to every man who is fixing his life alone, no rich relatives, no favours, no dad’s money, even through losses and disrespect, you’ll go far in life.”On April 9, he posted a prayer.
“It’s Thursday, April 9, 2026, Dear God, today I ask you to help me guard my mind and my emotions.
“When negativity arises, remind me to say ‘it does not belong to me, in the name of Jesus.’
“Help me to remember that there is power in Your name and that every force, not from you, shall flee.
“When depression tries to settle in, when anger rises, when anxiety or panic comes, give me the awareness that it’s not from You and the strength to reject it immediately in the name of Jesus.
“Fill me with your peace, your joy and your clarity and teach me to replace every negative thought with your truth.
“Strengthen my mind so that I can stand firm and not be overtaken by what I feel. I choose to walk in freedom, knowing I am covered, protected and held by you, in Jesus’ name.”
On Friday, he posted a picture of his oldest daughter in a car, which he was driving, telling his followers that he had just had a good conversation with her.
In the photograph, she is seem eating what appears to be a burger.
“Took my oldest on a lil (little) one-on-one date,” he posted.
Two days later, he shot her, and six of her siblings, dead.
Mathew Masinge