How Louisiana’s Gun Laws Allowed Convicted Felon to Legally Purchase Firearm Before Deadly Shooting

Shamar Elkins, a 31-year-old father, committed the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. in the past two years after legally obtaining a firearm despite a prior weapons conviction. On Sunday in Shreveport, Louisiana, Elkins shot and killed his seven children—ages three to 11—and their cousin, according to CNN. He also critically injured two women: his wife and the mother of the eighth child.

Elkins had a history of legal troubles that did not prevent him from purchasing a gun. In March 2019, three years after completing a seven-year stint in the Louisiana Army National Guard, he was arrested for firing a 9-millimeter handgun 300 feet from a school fence line where children were playing, KTBS reported. He was charged with illegal use of weapons and carrying a firearm on school property.

Elkins pleaded guilty to the illegal weapons charge, while the more serious charge was dismissed. He received an 18-month probation sentence but avoided a permanent firearms ban. In 2016, he was also charged with driving while intoxicated, as reported by CNN.

Louisiana’s Gun Laws and the Loophole That Allowed Elkins to Buy a Gun

Louisiana enforces a 10-year ban on firearm possession for certain felonies, including crimes of violence, sex crimes, drug crimes, and burglaries. However, not all felonies trigger this ban. Elkins’s 2019 conviction for illegal weapons use—punishable by probation—did not meet the legal threshold for a permanent firearms ban under U.S. federal law, according to the International Business Times.

Because Elkins’s probation ended, he was legally permitted to own a firearm again. His case highlights a gap in Louisiana’s gun laws that allowed a convicted felon with a history of weapons-related offenses to purchase a gun used in a tragic mass shooting.