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When parents kill: Forensic psychiatrists examine the motives behind unthinkable murders

Krdo · · 1761 words · By CNN Newssource
Mental Health and Criminal Responsibility Filicide and Forensic Psychiatry Mass Violence
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When parents kill: Forensic psychiatrists examine the motives behind unthinkable murders By Chelsea Bailey, CNN (CNN) — Gunfire shattered the silence of the Cedar Grove community in Shreveport, Louisiana, just before dawn Sunday.

Claims checked 18
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center50%
Right50%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

When parents kill: Forensic psychiatrists examine the motives behind unthinkable murders By Chelsea Bailey, CNN (CNN) — Gunfire shattered the silence of the Cedar Grove community in Shreveport, Louisiana, just before dawn Sunday.

Why it matters

Moments later, a mother and her two children scrambled out of a window and onto the roof of an unassuming gray and white home on West 79th Street and frantically dialed 911.

Common ground

“Units be advised,” a dispatcher relayed to officers, “the female is saying there’s nine subjects that live inside the residence.” “(She’s) saying he may have shot them all.” Police arrived at the home to discover a scene that officials were still struggling…

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://krdo.com/news/2026/04/22/when-parents-kill-forensic-psychiatrists-examin…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 18 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 8
check_circle Corroborated 5
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
verified
Claim 1: “The suspect, later identified as 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, shot and killed seven of his own kids; the eighth child was their cousin.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia explicitly states that on April 19, 2026, Shamar Elkins killed eight children, seven of whom were his own and one who was his nephew (cousin). This is further corroborated by AOL and other web search results.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On April 19, 2026, a mass shooting occurred at two homes in the Cedar Grove neighborhood of Shreveport, Louisiana, United States. Eight children between the ages of 3 and 11 were killed; seven of them…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Shreveport_shooting
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of people reported killed by non-military law enforcement officers in the United States in April 2026, whether in the line of duty or not, and regardless of reason or method. The listin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killings_by_law_enforc…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A familicide is a type of murder or murder–suicide in which an individual kills multiple of their own close family members (children, spouses, siblings, or parents) in quick succession. In half the ca…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Familicide
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 2: “in 2005, the Texas First Court of Appeals overturned Yates’ conviction”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 3: “Research also shows mothers and fathers kill their children at similar rates.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 4: “Nearly 90% of the victims were the biological children of the offenders.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 5: “The same study found the majority of offenders and victims were White, with Black offenders and victims being the second most common group.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the racial demographics of offenders and victims in the mentioned filicide study.
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Claim 6: “Elkins also shot his wife, Shaneiqua Pugh, and Christina Snow, the mother of three of his children.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web sources (CNN, Hindustan Times) confirm that Elkins shot both Shaneiqua Pugh (his wife) and Christina Snow (mother of three of his children).
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — On April 19, 2026, a mass shooting occurred at two homes in the Cedar Grove neighborhood of Shreveport, Louisiana, United States. Eight children between the ages of 3 and 11 were killed; seven of them…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Shreveport_shooting
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Elkins shot Christina Snow, the mother of three of his children, in the face, her aunt LaShun Berry told CNN.The photo shows Shamar Elkins, 31, and his wife, Shaneiqua. Elkins fatally shot his seven c…
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/20/us/shreveport-louisiana-s…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Christina Snow with Shamar Elkins and one of their kids Facebook. Elkins shot Snow in the face, with the bullet entering through her nose which is still lodged in her head. According to her cousin, Ja…
https://www.ibtimes.sg/christina-snow-mom-whose-three-kids-w…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 7: “Elkins later died after exchanging gunfire with police.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (IBTimes UK, News18, The Financial Express) report that Elkins died during a police chase/shootout.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Shamar Elkins/Facebook. A 31-year-old military veteran killed eight children during a morning rampage across Louisiana.Shreveport Police located the transport and initiated a chase crossing into Bossi…
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/tragic-rampage-louisiana-veteran-k…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Shamar Elkins, identified as the gunman in the Louisiana domestic violence mass shooting, killed eight children, including seven of his own, before dying in a police chase.
https://www.news18.com/world/louisiana-shooter-identity-sham…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Shamar Elkins was killed by police in pursuit after he allegedly fatally shot 8 children and seriously injured two women in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Sunday.
https://www.financialexpress.com/world-news/us-news/who-was-…
schedule
Claim 8: “In 2001, Yates – then a 36-year-old mother of five children – called 911 dispatchers and requested police be sent to her home in Houston, Texas.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 9: “Yates was tried again in 2006... a jury sided with her defense [finding her not guilty by reason of insanity].”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 10: “The jury deliberated for less than four hours before finding Yates guilty of capital murder... and instead sentenced Yates to life in prison.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 11: “officers found all five of the Yates children had been drowned in the family’s bathtub.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 12: “A 2014 analysis of 32 years of data on filicide arrests showed most filicide victims from 1976-2007 were between the ages of 1 and 6 years old.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence mentions a study of 94,146 filicide arrests over a 32-year period, but the specific finding that most victims were between 1 and 6 years old is not explicitly detailed in the snippets for corroboration.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Filicide is the killing one or more children by a parent, stepparent, or other parental figure. This study presents the first comprehensive analysis of U.S. filicide, drawn from 94,146 filicide arrest…
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3933547/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Filicide is the deliberate act of a parent killing their own child. The word filicide is derived from the Latin words filius and filia ('son' and 'daughter') and the suffix -cide, from the word caeder…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filicide
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The horrifying instances are often poorly understood, but a recent study provides the first comprehensive statistical overview of the tragic phenomenon. The authors also suggest underlying hypotheses …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140225122423.h…
help
Claim 13: “Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Mar’Kaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5, were also killed in the shooting, according to the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm the specific names and ages of all the victims listed in this claim.
info
Claim 14: “Each year in the United States there are nearly 500 arrests for filicide... according to an analysis of FBI data by Forensic Science International.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While a study by Forensic Science International is mentioned in the web results as a comprehensive analysis of filicide arrests, the specific number 'nearly 500 arrests' is not explicitly detailed in the provided snippets to be corroborated by a second source.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program collects crime and law enforcement statistics from law enforcement agencies across the U.S. and publishes that data on the FBI's Crime Data Explorer (CD…
https://ucr.fbi.gov/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The FBI's Crime Data Explorer (CDE) aims to provide transparency, create easier access, and expand awareness of criminal, and noncriminal, law enforcement data sharing; improve accountability for law …
https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Filicide is the killing of one or more children by a parent, stepparent, or other parental figure. This study presents the first comprehensive analysis of U.S. filicide, drawn from 94,146 filicide arr…
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037907381…
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Claim 15: “Eight children were dead [in the Shreveport shooting].”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent news sources (RT News, Flipboard, Krdo) all report that eight children were killed in a shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Eight children were killed in a mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana on Sunday, police have said, describing the attack as a domestic dispute that escalated into deadly violence.
https://www.rt.com/news/638724-shooting-us-eight-children-de…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Eight children ranging from 1 to 14 years old were killed in a mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Sunday morning, according to police.
https://flipboard.com/topic/news/video-mass-shooting-in-loui…
compare_arrows
cross reference SUPPORTS — Eight children ranging in age from 1 to 14 years old were killed in a mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Sunday morning, according to police.
https://flipboard.com/topic/news/8-children-killed-in-louisi…
+ 2 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 16: “In 1969, Dr. Phillip Resnick... published a landmark study in which he proposed five classifications for the motives that drive filicide.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 17: “The youngest victim, Jayla Elkins, was just 3, authorities said.”
CORROBORATED
CNN and Wikipedia both confirm that the youngest victim, Jayla Elkins, was 3 years old.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Shamar Elkins unleashed his unthinkable carnage at three addresses in Shreveport shortly after 6 a.m. Central time, authorities said. The slain victims ranged in age from 3 to 11, and there were gasps…
https://nypost.com/2026/04/19/us-news/shamar-elkins-named-as…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — On April 19, 2026, a mass shooting occurred at two homes in the Cedar Grove neighborhood of Shreveport, Louisiana, United States. Eight children between the ages of 3 and 11 were killed; seven of them…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Shreveport_shooting
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The youngest victim, Jayla Elkins, was just 3 years old, authorities said.This kind of shooting “rattles the entire city,” the mayor told CNN. Elkins shot Christina Snow, the mother of three of his ch…
https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/20/us/shreveport-louisiana-shoot…
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Claim 18: “Sunday’s massacre in Shreveport marks the deadliest mass shooting in the United States in more than two years.”
CORROBORATED
Al Jazeera and Google News results explicitly state that this event marks the deadliest mass shooting in the US in over two years.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — It marks the United States’ deadliest mass shooting in over two years.He and @FLOTUS join us in prayer for the victims, their families, the mothers still struggling for their lives, and the Shreveport…
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…
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web search NEUTRAL — The attack is the deadliest mass shooting reported in the United States in more than two years. In January 2024, eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb. Here is what we know
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/20/louisiana-mass-shoo…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — What we know about deadliest US mass shooting since 2024.The 31-year-old was sitting on the front porch of his Shreveport, Louisiana, home Saturday afternoon, Montgomery told CNN. The two men waved at…
https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/20/us/shreveport-louisiana-shoot…
+ 1 more evidence source
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.