Lawmaker requests moment of silence after Shreveport shooting the speaker said killed eight children

A lawmaker on the chamber floor asked colleagues for a moment of silence after a shooting in Shreveport, La., that the speaker said left eight children dead and several people wounded.

The speaker said, "But the murder of a child defies comprehension... It is in a word, awful," and recounted that "a man shot seven of his own and a cousin, between the ages of 3 and 11." The lawmaker added that the mothers were "hospitalized in serious condition, but expected to survive" and said a 13-year-old was injured while escaping by jumping off a roof.

Why it matters: The remarks framed the killings as a communal tragedy that strains the bond between parents and children. The lawmaker said communities grieve deeply because people rely on parents for protection, calling the deaths a "sacrifice of a sacred bond between a parent and a child." The speaker urged prayers for the families and communities affected.

The lawmaker also thanked law enforcement, saying, "We thank the officers who acted quickly and bravely to pursue the shooter and stop him from doing it again." After those remarks the speaker requested "a moment of silence for these eight young souls for Shreveport, for us all," and then yielded the floor.

No formal votes or actions were recorded in the transcript excerpt. The details in this article are drawn from the speaker's account in the chamber; the transcript does not identify the speaker by name or provide an official incident report, and the speaker attributes some details to information received by their office.