[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 69 (Monday, April 20, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S1837]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   SHOOTING IN SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA

  Mr. CASSIDY. Madam President, all of us have experienced someone in 
our life who has died, but the murder of a child defies comprehension 
and can't be measured, understood, or compared to anything else. It is, 
in a word, awful.
  Today, the Shreveport community in Louisiana grieves the loss of 
eight children. A man shot seven of his own and a cousin between the 
ages of 3 and 11. He shot the mothers. I am told they are hospitalized 
and in serious condition but expected to survive. A 13-year-old was 
injured jumping off the roof to escape.
  Now, I asked people in my office: Why do we grieve so much? People 
die all the time. And I think what we agreed upon is that they look to 
their parents for protection and not to be killed.
  And it is, if you will, a sacrifice of a sacred bond between a parent 
and a child. And, of course, when that comes to mind, what is sacred? 
And then also when we read of these dying, we think of our own 
children, and we feel protective of them. And we know, no matter how 
much emotion we feel, they died.
  Now, we thank the officers who acted quickly and bravely to pursue 
the shooter and stop him from doing it again. We pray for the families, 
for the communities, that they can recover as much as family and 
communities can recover from something so horrific.
  I request a moment of silence for these eight young souls, for 
Shreveport, and for us all.
  (Moment of silence.)
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.

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