Faith leaders and community figures on Saturday gathered at Summer Grove Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana, to honor eight children killed in a mass shooting last month, in a service that unfolded with prayers, music, and remembrances for each of the victims. The children’s caskets were lined up with large photos, and mourners filed past them during the ceremony on Mother’s Day weekend, according to the account of the service by AP correspondent Julie Walker.
In opening remarks, Bishop Bernard Kimble, senior pastor of the Mount Olive Baptist Church, told attendees, “In spite of how you may be feeling today, we still need to know that God is still good.” The service included a choir and solo singers performing throughout, while ushers and family members moved through the sanctuary with tributes placed beside the closed caskets.
The funeral pamphlet contained written remembrances for each child, who ranged in age from 3 to 11. It included nicknames for some of them—3-year-old Jayla Elkins was called “Jaybae,” Kayla Pugh, 6, was “K-Mae,” and Mar’Kaydon Pugh, 10, was “K-Bug”—and described others in terms of their personalities and interests, including references to TikTok videos for Layla Pugh, 7.
AP reported that Kim Burrell, a pastor and gospel singer, spoke as families tried to understand the killings. Burrell said, “God is still on the throne,” and he added, “To ask the question, ‘Why is this fair, God? How could you, Lord?’ He’s still God,” according to the service account. He also told the crowd, “The same God that healed you from the stuff that you don’t want to tell nobody about. But he is a God that doesn’t have to give us all the clues. Just know that he makes no mistakes.”
Along with religious leaders, local officials and state officials offered condolences during the service. Shreveport Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor acknowledged that “there are no words sufficient to ease this pain,” while Councilman James Green said the community should “take off our funeral face” because “this is a celebration” of the children’s lives.
Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux expressed the city’s condolences, and churchgoers were described as often responding with clapping as singers and speakers performed. The ceremony also included remarks that highlighted the children’s names being read or shown multiple times throughout the service, with buses made available afterward to transport mourners to a graveside burial.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry ordered U.S. and state flags to fly at half-staff over the next week at the Capitol and state government buildings. In a message read from Landry, the victims “were the light of their homes and the heart of their classrooms. They were full of promise and found joy in the simplest things, such as dancing, playing outside and sharing laughter with family and friends. Their futures were bright and held great promise.” The message also said, “It is incumbent upon us to honor the memory of those lost by standing together against such senseless violence.”
Among those in attendance was former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, whose political career was cut short by an assassination attempt in 2011. U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Louisiana, told attendees, “She just wanted to come and just let the family know that this pain is not just in Louisiana,” adding, “This pain is all across the nation,” AP reported.
The funeral followed the April 19 shooting in Shreveport in which police said a father shot seven siblings and also killed their cousin, and the attack wounded the children’s mother, who was seeking a divorce, and another woman across two houses. Police said Shamar Elkins died after fleeing and a police pursuit, and it was not clear whether he was killed by officers who fired or from a self-inflicted gunshot. An investigation remains ongoing into what AP described as the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. in more than two years, with details still under review.
At the conclusion of the church service, Kimble prayed for healing to begin, telling the congregation, “Help us as we move from this spot,” and saying, “Because we know, oh God, grief is only temporary. And if we’ll put our hands in your favor, you’ll lead us through this.”