Louisiana shooter Shamar Elkins was previously hit with weapons charges for wildly firing a gun near a school nearly a decade before he fatally gunned down eight children Sunday, cops said.
Elkins, 31, was arrested March 18, 2019, on initial charges of illegal use of weapons and carrying a firearm on school property, according to Caddo District Court records seen by the New York Times.
The Army vet had pulled a .9mm handgun out of his waistband at the time and unloaded it at a vehicle, letting off five shots amid a road-rage incident near a high school in Shreveport, reports show.
A stray bullet was found near Caddo Parish Magnet High School, approximately 300 feet away, narrowly missing children who were playing outside at the time.
The shooting happened after the driver of the other car pulled a silver handgun on Elkins — who was still an active member of the Louisiana Army National Guard at the time — according to the police description of the incident.
The other driver was fleeing the scene when Elkins opened fire.
No one was injured in the incident, and Elkins “took off” after the shooting but was tracked down and charged, according to police.
In October 2019, Elkins reached a plea agreement in the case, pleading guilty to the charge of illegal use of weapons in return for the dismissal of the charge for carrying a firearm on school property.
He was sentenced to 18 months probation and left the National Guard in August 2020 after seven years and was never deployed.
Elkins worked as a signal support system specialist in the Guard and never rose above a private.
His only previous known criminal conviction was for driving while intoxicated in 2016 in Shreveport.
Officials are not aware of any previous domestic-violence issues involving Elkins, according to Shreveport Police Department spokesperson Chris Bordelon.
Authorities are still examining the motives behind Elkins’s massacre of seven of his kids, the deadliest mass shooting in the US in more than two years.
He murdered the children and one of their young cousins while also shooting his wife and girlfriend.
Jayla Elkins, 3, Shayla Elkins, 5, Kayla Pugh, 6, Layla Pugh, 7, Markaydon Pugh, 10, Sariahh Snow, 11, Khedarrion Snow, 6, and Braylon Snow, 5, were all found dead inside their home in Shreveport.
One 13-year-old boy was able to escape the death house with a broken leg by jumping off the roof and fleeing during the rampage.
With Post wires
