Shreveport-area investigators are now pursuing criminal charges against the man whose firearm was used in a rampage that killed eight children, according to court documents released Tuesday. The filings say Charles Ford told investigators that he suspected Shamar Elkins stole an assault-style gun from Ford’s truck in the weeks before the killings.
In the documents, Ford said he believed Elkins took the weapon because Elkins was among the few people who rode with him, and Ford told investigators he noticed the gun was missing around March 9. The filings further say Ford confronted Elkins about the missing firearm, but that when Elkins became “offensive,” Ford “let it go,” according to an affidavit submitted in support of federal charges.
That affidavit is in support of federal charges accusing Ford of being a felon in possession of a firearm and of making a false statement to federal agents. The documents say Ford initially denied having the gun when investigators first approached him after the shooting Sunday.
Federal prosecutors said Elkins’ death has not ended their push for accountability in the case. U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller said in a statement that “Elkins’ death means that our community will never see him face justice,” adding: “Our hope, as we continue to investigate and prosecute this case alongside our law enforcement partners, is that holding the person whose gun Elkins used to perpetrate the crime accountable will give some small bit of solace to our Shreveport community.”
Elkins died after fleeing and a police pursuit, and police said it was not clear whether he was killed by officers who fired or from a self-inflicted gunshot. Court documents and officials’ statements also described an attack that unfolded across two houses before dawn, leaving Elkins’ wife and another woman shot and wounded.
Officials said the eight children killed included three boys and five girls, ranging in age from 3 to 11. The documents also describe Elkins as having pleaded guilty in 2019 to illegal use of weapons and as receiving 18 months of supervised probation, with his handgun turned over to police as a condition of probation.
Louisiana law bars people convicted of certain violent felonies—including illegal use of weapons—from having a gun for at least 10 years after completing their sentence and probation, and officials said they had not addressed whether Elkins was legally prohibited from possessing a weapon at the time of the rampage. In a statement quoted in the AP story, Lindsay Nichols, policy director for Giffords Law Center, said, “Families should be able to feel safe at home, but this tragedy shows how gun violence can shatter lives in an instant.”
The AP report also noted that for years, advocates for tighter gun regulations have pushed for measures such as red flag laws, with Democrats routinely proposing them and Republicans in the reliably red state blocking them.
Ford, meanwhile, did not have a court-appointed legal representative at the time of the filings, according to federal court records. The filings say an attorney who previously represented Ford could not immediately be reached for comment, and efforts to reach family members at other phone numbers associated with him were also not immediately successful.