Officials provided more information today on Sunday’s horrific tragedy where eight children were killed execution style in a domestic incident in Shreveport. Two women were also injured in the shooting that took place at two different houses.  Shreveport police chief Wayne Smith says they are recovering…

Cut 3 (08) “…hospital and recovering”

Thirty-one-year-old Shamar Elkins has been identified as the gunman. He was killed during a police pursuit. Smith says Elkins was the father of seven of the children killed…

Cut 5 (09) “…taken

Smith says it appears that while one of the women Elkins shot was his wife, he was still carrying on a relationship with the other woman, who was the mother of his other children.

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Governor Jeff Landry says the two male candidates in the Senate Republican Primary are not being very Southerly to the woman candidate, Julia Letlow. In an interview on WRKF’s “Talk Louisiana,” Landry said he’s impressed Letlow continues to do well in the race, despite the negative attacks against her by Bill Cassidy and John Fleming…

Cut 11 (10) “….to tell you”

LSU gymnastics fell a little short of winning its second national title on Saturday as Oklahoma edged out the Tigers. It was a historic season for Kailin Chio, who earned 13 perfect 10s, including one on the vault on Saturday. Chio will return next season along with 85-percent of the scoring from this year’s squad…

Cut 14 (12) “…this year.”

It’s the worst mass murder in the U.S. in more than two years. Eight children were shot to death in Shreveport early yesterday morning – seven were siblings, and an eighth was a cousin. Shreveport Police Corporal Christopher Bordelon says the three boys and five girls range in age from three to 11 years old.

Cut 4 (08) “…is Shamar Elkins.”

The 31-year-old Elkins was killed during a police pursuit that ended in Bossier Pairsh. He also wounded two women, including his wife.

State Representative Tammy Phelps, whose district includes the location where this incident occurred, says this tragedy is gut-wrenching for the entire community, especially those who were called to the scene.

Cut 8 (16) “…mentally as well.”

Governor Jeff Landry accuses the two male Republican candidates in the U-S Senate race as not being “southerly.”  Landry, who is supporting Julia Letlow in the U-S Senate Republican primary, says the attack ads against the Congresswoman from Incumbent Billy Cassidy and State Treasurer John Fleming are crossing the line…

Cut 9 (07)  “…Southerly.”

Landry made the comments during an interview with Jim Engster on WRKF’s “Talk Louisiana.”

The LSU gymnastics program nearly won their second national championship in three years on Saturday, but the Sooners won by percentage points over the Tigers. It was the Tigers’ fourth runner-up finish in program history, while Oklahoma won its eighth national championship. Coach Jay Clark says  O-U is the gold standard, but LSU is not going away…

Cut 13 (07) “…next year.”

Investigators say the man who shot eight kids, including seven of his own, to death was suffering from mental health issues, including PTSD. Shreveport Police Corporal Christopher Bordelon says 31-year-old Shemar Elkins shot his wife inside one home, then went into another home and shot a woman and eight children. Bordelon says a ninth child was able to escape.

Cut 5 (05) “…to get away.”

Shreveport officers later shot Elkins to death following a chase that ended in Bossier City.

This tragedy is also shining a massive spotlight on domestic violence that continues to plague the entire country. State Senator Sam Jenkins, whose district includes the location where the shooting occurred, said there needs to be a proactive approach to ending the cycle of domestic violence.

Cut 23 (09) “…witnessed here today.”

The Louisiana House last week approved a budget proposal that doubles the funding of the LA GATOR scholarship program. That’s the state’s voucher program that mainly serves low-income families, providing state tax dollars for children to attend a private school. Senate President Cameron Henry continues to oppose doubling the size of LA GATOR.

Cut 13 (08)  “…year just because.”

But Governor Jeff Landry said on WRKF’s Talk Louisiana that one of his main objectives is to provide more options for parents who have children with disabilities.

Cut 16 (15) “…decide to do.”

The Senate will discuss the budget for the next several weeks; the legislature has until June 1st to get it onto Landry’s desk.

It’s the worst mass murder in the U.S. in more than two years. Eight children were shot to death in Shreveport early yesterday morning – seven were siblings, and an eighth was a cousin. Shreveport Police Corporal Christopher Bordelon says 31-year-old Shemar Elkins first went into a home on Harrison Street and shot his wife inside. 

Cut 6 (08) “…will pull through.”

Then Elkins went into a home on West 79th Street a short distance away and shot another woman before shooting all eight children execution-style. Shreveport Police later shot Elkins dead following a chase that ended in Bossier City.

Caddo Parish Commissioner Ronald Cothran told a news conference yesterday that this tragedy is further proof that domestic violence remains a major problem across the country, and something needs to be done to break the cycle.

Cut 9 (06)  “…expect different results.”

The state legislature is working to create a pilot program, so veterans and others dealing with PTSD, chronic depression or substance abuse can take advantage of psychedelic-assisted therapy. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

On the heels of the success of the Artemis Two mission will come an Artemis Three mission next year – and once again, New Orleans will have something to do with it. Today, NASA rolls out the largest section of the rocket that will launch the mission’s astronauts to the moon – and, once again, that rocket is being built at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

A domestic incident has led to the shooting deaths of eight children in Shreveport. The suspect, 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, was killed in a police pursuit that ended in Bossier Parish. Shreveport Police Corporal Christopher Bordelon says Elkins killed his seven children during the shooting rampage, the eighth victim was a cousin, and a ninth child escaped…

Cut 5 (05) “…to get away”

Two women were also shot, one of them is his wife, but so far, they’ve been able to survive their injuries.

The tragedy has shaken Shreveport to its core. Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor…

Cut 7 (13) “…and I’m sorry.”

More information is expected to be released at a 11 AM press  conference.

Now that the House has sent the budget to the Senate, the debate over funding for the LA GATOR scholarship program will intensify. Jeanne Burns has the story.

Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Jeanne Burns.”

The LSU gymnastics team nearly won its second national championship in three years on Saturday, but finished just below eventual champion Oklahoma as the Sooners won the program’s eighth title. It’s the fourth runner-up finish for LSU and coach Jay Clark could not be any prouder…

Cut 12 (10) “…was not”

It’s the worst mass murder in the U.S. in more than two years. Eight children were shot to death in Shreveport early yesterday morning – seven were siblings, and an eighth was a cousin. Shreveport Police Corporal Christopher Bordelon says the three boys and five girls range in age from three to 11 years old.

Cut 4 (08) “…is Shamar Elkins.”

The 31-year-old Elkins was killed during a police pursuit that ended in Bossier Pairsh. He also wounded two women, including his wife.

State Representative Tammy Phelps, whose district includes the location where this incident occurred, says this tragedy is gut-wrenching for the entire community, especially those who were called to the scene.

Cut 8 (16) “…mentally as well.”

A man who escaped from police custody in Opelousas on Wednesday in shackles was fatally shot by authorities on Saturday during a police pursuit that ended in Carencro. During the chase, State Police say 34-year-old Michael Vavasseur struck a police car with his vehicle and then got out and fired at law enforcement before he was killed. A Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office K-9 was shot and is in stable condition.

The Louisiana Senate has approved legislation that would allow the state to use opioid settlement dollars to conduct clinical trials and research on psychedelic-assisted therapy. Major General Glenn Curtis, the former leader of the Louisiana National Guard, received this type of treatment in Mexico, along with his son, and he can’t believe the results…

Cut 12 (09) “…lease on life”

The measure is awaiting discussion in the House.

Tragedy in Shreveport on Sunday as eight children are shot to death…

Cut 1 (51) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

The Louisiana Senate has approved legislation that could allow veterans and others suffering from PTSD and chronic depression to have access to psychedelic-assisted therapy. Mandeville Senator Patrick McMath’s legislation would give opioid settlement dollars to academic health centers to conduct clinical studies to determine if alternative treatments such as psilocybin (sigh-lo-SIGH-bin) and ibogaine (ib-OH-guh-een) work.

Cut 10 (10) “…is also treatment.”

The measure is waiting for discussion in the House.

Senate Finance will be going through the House approved budget over the next several weeks. Senate President Cameron Henry remains opposed to doubling the funding of LA Gator, the state’s voucher program.  Henry says LA GATOR is only a year old, and the state should see whether the students in the program are improving academically and whether the state is receiving what it’s spending.

Cut 15 (07) “…done by odyessy.”

Eight children, ranging from three to 11 years old, are dead in what Shreveport police are calling a domestic disturbance. Authorities say the horrific violence started before sunrise on Sunday when the suspect, identified as 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, shot and wounded a woman identified as his wife inside one home

cut 6 (08) “…pull through.

Shreveport Police Corporal Chris Bordelon says Elkins then went to another home in Shreveport, where he fatally shot eight children execution style and also another woman.

Bordelon says Elkins was the father of the seven children killed, the eighth victim was a cousin to the other deceased children.  State Police say Elkins was fatally shot during a police pursuit that ended in Bossier Parish.

The tragedy has shaken Shreveport to its core. Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor…

Cut 7 (13) “…and I’m sorry.”

The Louisiana Senate approves legislation that would allow for clinical trials to be conducted in Louisiana on psychedelic-assisted therapy. Mandeville Senator Patrick McMath says these psychedelics are used in other countries and the success rate is over 90-percent when it comes to treating PTSD, chronic depression, heroin and alcohol dependency…

Cut 11 (11) “…cleansing.”

The bill is awaiting discussion in the House.

The proposed budget for the next fiscal year is now in the Senate after the House approved the 47-billion-dollar budget. The House went along with Governor Landry’s proposal to double the funding of the LA Gator Program, and Landry explained why that is important in an interview on WRKF’s Talk Louisiana…

Cut 14 (09) “…zip code”

But Senate President Cameron Henry says before they increase funding, they should give it another year to make sure it is producing better academic outcomes.