In the wake of a mass shooting that left eight children dead and two women fighting for their lives in Louisiana, their loved ones are sharing more about what led up to the tragedy that has shattered their family and community.
The shooter, Shamar Elkins, and his wife were in the process of separating and were set to appear in court on April 20, the day after the shooting, Crystal Brown, a cousin of one of the women who was wounded in the shooting, told the Associated Press.
Elkins' stepfather, Marcus Jackson, told The New York Times that his stepson said during a call on Easter Sunday that his wife wanted a divorce. Elkins said that he wanted to take his own life and that he was dealing with “dark thoughts," Jackson told the newspaper.
“I told him, ‘You can beat stuff, man. I don’t care what you’re going through, you can beat it,'” Jackson told the outlet. “Then I remember him telling me, ‘Some people don’t come back from their demons.'"
Here's what to know about the rampage that left eight children dead.
