A Louisiana dad who killed his seven children and their cousin reportedly exhibited ominous behaviour in the days leading up to the massacre.

The children of the Louisiana mass shooting have been identified as Jayla and Shayla Elkins; Kayla, Layla Pugh and Markaydon Pugh; and Sariahh, Khedarrion and A Louisiana dad who killed his seven children and their cousin reportedly exhibited ominous behaviour in the days leading up to the massacre.

The victims – 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 killed in a massacre at a Shreveport, Lousiana, at home a little before 6am on Sunday, April 19, the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office has said in a statement.

They were fatally shot by Shamar Elkins, who was later killed during a police chase after he carjacked a vehicle, according to the Shreveport Police Department.

The shooter’s family says he appeared to be in a mental health crisis in the days before the killings, and that they had felt uneasy about his behaviour in the weeks prior, according to The New York Times.

On Easter Sunday, Shamar called his mother and stepfather and told them, crying, that he wanted to take his own life, the couple told The New York Times. They could hear his children playing in the background as he spoke.

He told his stepfather, Marcus Jackson, that his wife wanted a divorce and he was having “dark thoughts,” according the outlet.

When Jackson told him that he could “beat it,” Shamar made a chilling statement to him: “some people don’t come back from their demons,'” the outlet reported.

A teenager reportedly escaped and suffered multiple broken bones, police said. According to KSLA, he fled the attack by jumping off the roof of the house.

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The attack, which authorities say was a domestic violence incident, has shaken the local community.

Police Chief Wayne Smith said that in his career of nearly five decades, he has “never encountered anything of this magnitude,” the department wrote in its initial statement.

“A tragedy like this does not belong to one family alone – it belongs to all of us. Today, our community is grieving the unimaginable loss of innocent children,” Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said in a statement on Sunday.

“We must not ignore the deeper issues – violence in the home, untreated trauma and the silence that allows both to grow,” he said the statement.

• A Tell Media report / Source: People