Man charged in connection to gun used in Shreveport mass shooting

April 22 (UPI) -- A Shreveport, La., man has been charged with making false statements to federal agents and being a felon in possession of a firearm in connection with Sunday's fatal mass shooting that killed eight children.

The U.S. District Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana alleged in a statement Tuesday that Charles Ford, 56, lied to federal agents about owning the firearm that was used by Shamar Elkins on Sunday to kill eight children, between 3 and 11-years old, including seven believed to be his own.

Ford later admitted to possessing the firearm, a rifle, and claimed that he kept it under the seat of his truck. He believed Elkins stole the firearm from the truck but when he confronted him Elkins became "offensive," causing him to drop the subject. He told investigators he noticed that the firearm was missing around March 9.

Elkins, a 31-year-old veteran of the Louisiana Army National Guard, was killed in a shootout with police on Sunday.

Two women who are mothers to the child victims were hospitalized with multiple bullet wounds.

"Words fall short in the face of the acts Shamar Elkins perpetrated in Shreveport on April 19 -- they are beyond comprehension or description," said Zachary A. Keller, U.S. attorney. "Our law enforcement partners are investigating every angle of how this tragedy came to occur, and this case arises from that investigation -- in particular, how Elkins secured a firearm that he used to execute his own children."

Ford faces up to 15 years in prison for the charge of felon-in-possession of a firearm and up to five years for making false statements.

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This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 11:37 AM.