A Louisiana man has been arrested for allegedly helping Shamar Elkins, the suspect in a mass shooting that killed eight children, to obtain a gun.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana has charged 56-year-old Charles Ford with felon in possession of a firearm and making false statements to federal agents.
These charges are connected to the rifle that Elkins reportedly used in Sunday’s mass shooting in Shreveport that killed his seven children and one of their cousins. The three boys and five girls ranged in age from 3 to 11 years old.
Two women and a ninth child were injured in the shooting.
“Words fall short in the face of the acts Shamar Elkins perpetrated in Shreveport on April 19—they are beyond comprehension or description. 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,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller in a press release.
Bossier City authorities said Elkins was shot and killed in a confrontation with police after leaving the scene of the initial shooting in a stolen car.
“Elkins’ death means that our community will never see him face justice. Our hope, as we continue to investigate and prosecute this case alongside our law enforcement partners, is that holding the person whose gun Elkins used to perpetrate the crime accountable will give some small bit of solace to our Shreveport community,” Keller said.
Ford faces up to 15 years in federal prison for the possession charge and up to five years for the false statement charge.
According to court documents, Shreveport Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives started investigating a firearms trace of the rifle Elkins reportedly used to commit the mass shooting.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says when law enforcement first talked to the original purchaser of the gun, that person identified Ford as the person she’d given the weapon to.
Ford, a convicted felon who is not legally allowed to have a gun, initially lied to ATF agents about being in possession of the gun, claiming he never had it, officials say. He later reportedly admitted he did have possession of the gun, claiming he kept it under his seat in his truck.
Ford further said he believed Elkins had taken possession of the rifle. He allegedly said he noticed the gun was missing from his truck around March 9, according to The Associated Press.
“The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is engaged and committed to holding people accountable for illegal possession and use of firearms that harm our community,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson in the press release. “Holding people accountable does not stop with the person who pulled the trigger but also includes those who give access to and proliferate firearms that are later used in violent crime.”
