By Andy Rose, Lauren Mascarenhas, Isabel Rosales, Caroll Alvarado, CNN
(CNN) — On Easter Sunday, Shamar Elkins posed for a photo with his seven children in their matching church outfits – most of the girls in white button-down sweaters with pink stripes, the boys in sky blue polos. One daughter gives an electric grin, framed underneath two green hair bows.
Elkins stretched his hands behind them, enveloping his kids like a big hug. On Facebook, he said it was the first time he had all of his children together at church.
Two weeks later, police say, those same hands pulled the trigger that took all of their lives and that of along with one of their cousins in a murderous spree that shocked Shreveport.
So many futures cut short. So many questions.
“The children were children,” neighbor Freddie Montgomery told CNN. “They were children playing in the yard every day.”
By Monday, a memorial on the front lawn of the home had been built from brightly colored balloons, striped pinwheels and stuffed animals of all kinds – a tribute to the young children who used to play there.
Ordinary children – from 3 to 11 years old – now part of a story that is both extraordinary and far too common. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in the United States.
As their mothers – who were also injured in the attack – recover, the eight children who were killed are being remembered for their vibrant spirits and love for life.
“These were eight babies. Eight precious babies,” said Troy Brown, the father of the eighth victim. “So, no – I’m not okay.”
‘I’ve lost eight parts of me’
Mar’Kaydon Pugh, 10, was the cousin of the seven siblings killed in the attack. His mother Keosha Pugh and Elkins’ estranged wife are sisters. Keosha broke her pelvis and hip after jumping off a roof with her daughter Mar’Kianna while fleeing the gunfire, her husband said, and is recovering.
“I’m never gonna get to throw the football with him again,” his father, Brown, said in tears Monday.
Brown said he helped raise Mar’Kaydon’s cousins and is mourning the loss of all the children.
“I’ve lost eight parts of me, because I loved each and every one of them like they were my own and I took care of them like they were my own,” Brown said.
Sisters who loved dancing, laughter and unicorns
Brown says the home he shared with Keosha Pugh, his sister-in-law Shaneiqua Pugh, his brother-in-law Shamar Elkins and six of the children was never quiet. Before the attack that robbed the home of joy and life, it pulsed with noise, laughter and movement.
Some of the loudest were sisters Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; and Layla Pugh, 7.
They filled the rooms with singing and dancing, sometimes bursting out with the random Gen Alpha chant of “6-7,” a phrase only they seemed to fully understand. The girls would spend hours filming TikToks, turning mundane daily moments into something playful and childlike.
“They loved to move around and have fun,” Brown told CNN.
They shared everything – toys, space and attention. The sisters were obsessed with Lilo & Stitch and Hello Kitty. Jayla adored unicorns. Shayla was more reserved, often scrolling quietly on her phone. Layla and Kayla took pride in helping around the house, quick to respond “okay uncle” whenever Brown asked the