At least eight children are dead and other people are wounded after a mass murder reported in the Louisiana city of Shreveport, according to local police.

Police said that the slain victims were children ranging in age from 18 months to 14 years. Two other women were reportedly shot in the head but survived – and a third person, described as a young boy, was injured while jumping from a roof.

Wayne Smith, Shreveport’s police chief, said the suspected killer was shot and killed by police after he committed a carjacking.

The violence occurred early on Sunday morning in Shreveport’s Cedar Grove neighborhood, with police suggesting there were at least four separate but nearby scenes involved in the deadly rampage. Investigators did not discuss a possible motive for the killings but said it appeared to be domestic in nature.

They also did not name the slain suspect or his various victims, with Smith saying an investigation into “a very large scene with four … specific locations” remained ongoing.

At a news conference later on Sunday, Shreveport mayor Tom Arceneaux said, “this is a tragic situation, maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve … had” in recent memory in the north-western Louisiana city of about 177,000 people.

“It’s a terrible morning in Shreveport, and we all know my heart goes out to this entire community for the tragic event that has taken place this morning,” Arceneaux said.

US House speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican whose congressional district includes Shreveport, issued a statement saying Sunday’s violence was “heartbreaking”.

“My team is in touch with local law enforcement as more details emerge,” Johnson’s statement said. “We’re holding the victims, their families and loved ones, and our Shreveport community close in our thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time.”

Heading into Sunday, there had been at least six mass murders across the US in 2026, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The archive – a non-partisan reference resources – defines mass murders as cases in which four or more victims are killed.

In another high-profile mass shooting in the US over the weekend, five people were injured on Saturday night during a fight near the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. Three of the wounded were reportedly students.

One of the injured was in critical condition, and the remaining wounded were considered stable, police said.

Police did not immediately announce any arrests in connection with Saturday night’s Iowa City shooting.

“While we await additional information, I am thinking about these students and their families, friends, and all the people who care about them,” Barbara Wilson, the president of University of Iowa, said in a statement. “I am holding them close in my thoughts, along with everyone in our community who is hurting or feeling shaken right now.”

The shooting near the university campus was among more than 110 mass shootings in the US so far in 2026, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The archive defines mass shooting as cases in which four or more victims are wounded or killed.

The US’s perennially high rates of mass shootings have prompted calls for more substantial gun control. But Congress over the years has been unable or unwilling to heed such calls, with lawmakers who support keeping firearms as accessible as possible often responding to deadly mass shootings with prayers rather than with legislative action.