ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
Police in Louisiana say eight children were killed Sunday in a shooting that injured at least two others, as well. The suspect is also dead. Authorities have released few details about the shooting. NPR's Joe Hernandez has been following all of this and joins us now. Hey, Joe.
JOE HERNANDEZ, BYLINE: Hi there.
SCHMITZ: Joe, this sounds horrific. What do we know about what happened here?
HERNANDEZ: Yeah. A horrible shooting early Sunday morning, shocking that community. Eight children were killed, as you say. They ranged in age 1 to 14 years old. Two other people were hit by gunfire, but it's unclear how old they were or what their conditions are now. The Shreveport Police Department said Sunday this was domestic in nature but didn't give any details about a motive or what led up to these events. But with eight young children killed, it is clearly a tragedy for the city. All of the public officials who spoke at a press conference earlier on Sunday morning said they had never seen anything like it. Here's Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux.
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TOM ARCENEAUX: This is a tragic situation. Maybe the worst tragic situation we've ever had in Shreveport. And so right now, we're going to process the information. It is in very good hands. But it's a terrible morning in Shreveport, and we all mourn with the victims.
HERNANDEZ: A tragic situation. And when the police announced the ages of the victims at that press conference, there were audible reactions from some people who had gathered there to listen.
SCHMITZ: Yeah. How - what are police saying about how these shootings unfolded?
HERNANDEZ: Well, authorities say police first responded to a call around 6 a.m. local time Sunday morning to a house in Shreveport. One of the victims there had run to an adjacent house, and then there was another related crime scene at a third house nearby, but police haven't said exactly what happened there or where that fits into the chronology. But after police responded to that initial call, the suspect allegedly committed a carjacking near the scene and then led police on a chase into the adjacent parish, which is similar to what other states might call a county.
SCHMITZ: Right.
HERNANDEZ: And Shreveport police Corporal Christopher Bordelon described what happened after that.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
CHRISTOPHER BORDELON: The vehicle was chased into Bossier Parish. And at which point in time, Shreveport police officers did discharge their firearm, and that individual is deceased.
HERNANDEZ: But besides saying officers fired their weapons, the police didn't provide specific details on how the suspect died, but the Louisiana State Police is now investigating that shooting by local officers, and they said in a statement that the suspect was shot.
SCHMITZ: So what do we know about the suspect or why he did this?
HERNANDEZ: Not a lot right now. Police say there was one suspect in these killings, and that is the adult male who died. Authorities haven't released his name or age but said they would make his identity public once they've made the proper notifications. Right now, they said they're still collecting evidence from the multiple crime scenes and investigating what happened here, what led up to all this.
SCHMITZ: Right.
HERNANDEZ: But Bordelon, the Shreveport police spokesperson, said some of the children who were killed were, quote, "descendants of the shooter." So they were related to the suspect, and they expect to release more details in the coming days.
SCHMITZ: That's NPR's Joe Hernandez. Thanks, Joe.
HERNANDEZ: You're welcome.
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