Two devastating incidents of domestic violence that claimed the lives of Black mothers in Louisiana and Virginia have ignited nationwide discussions about improving prevention resources and mental health services available to Black communities.
Community advocates responding to these tragic shootings emphasize that the incidents underscore disturbing patterns showing Black women face disproportionately higher risks of domestic violence. They view these deaths as a crucial moment to address how unequal access to care and resources leaves some women and children more exposed to household violence.
In Shreveport, Louisiana, authorities report that Shamar Elkins killed seven of his children and one additional child on Sunday morning. Family members indicate Elkins was going through a separation from his wife, who survived with injuries.
Meanwhile, last Thursday in Annandale, Virginia, police discovered the bodies of former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and his estranged wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, at their suburban Washington, D.C. area residence. Authorities determined Justin Fairfax killed his estranged wife before taking his own life, while their two children present during the incident remained unharmed. Similar to the Louisiana case, Fairfax was separating from his wife and faced a court-ordered deadline to vacate their shared home.
Though investigators have not determined what triggered either the Shreveport murders or the Virginia murder-suicide, specialists note that the disturbing circumstances reflect common patterns occurring in households nationwide and highlight the urgent need for solutions targeting the fundamental causes of this disproportionate violence.
The Louisiana family had previously experienced gender-based gun violence: both Shaneiqua Elkins and the other shooting victim, Keosha Pugh, were sisters who lost their mother to gun violence before reaching age 10, their uncle Lionel Pugh confirmed.
“It’s sad. It just breaks you down,” Pugh said.
During a Monday press conference, Shreveport Councilman Grayson Boucher described the Louisiana killings as representative of “a true epidemic of domestic violence” throughout the southern city of approximately 180,000 residents.
These patterns extend far beyond Shreveport, as specialists emphasize how both race and gender create heightened vulnerability to domestic violence for Black women specifically.
According to 2014 Centers for Disease Control research, more than four out of ten Black women experience physical violence from intimate partners during their lifetimes — significantly higher rates than white, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander women.
Paméla Tate, executive director of Black Women Revolt, which operates abuse prevention programs and survivor support services, explains that justified skepticism toward police and government child protective agencies rooted in institutionalized racism history makes Black women hesitant to seek assistance — leaving them particularly vulnerable to domestic violence.
Furthermore, Black women face twice the likelihood of being murdered by men compared to white women, according to a 2025 Violence Policy Center study analyzing 2023 federal data. The perpetrators typically know their victims, the research found, with more than nine out of ten Black female victims knowing their killers, and most of these deaths involving firearms.
Ultimately, Tate explained, “domestic violence doesn’t see color,” stemming primarily from widespread beliefs among men across all racial groups that women are subjects or property.
“Domestic violence is about exerting power over someone that you profess to love and controlling their behavior,” Tate said.
Mental health crises have generated significant discussion regarding their potential influence in both shootings.
A family member of Elkins’ wife informed The Associated Press that Elkins voluntarily admitted himself to a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in January for approximately ten days seeking mental health treatment.
In Virginia, Justin Fairfax had been a promising Democratic Party figure until two women accused him of sexual assault, damaging his credibility as a political leader. Court documents indicate the former lieutenant governor’s “mental and emotional health” deteriorated before he killed his wife and himself, noting he consumed alcohol heavily and isolated himself from family after the 2019 allegations became public.
Adult and child psychiatrist Christine Crawford, who has not analyzed the Shreveport or Annandale cases, explained that financial difficulties, marriage problems and workplace issues — combined with existing mental health vulnerabilities — can cause someone to “crack.”
“It makes some think about the amount of pain, distress and hopelessness they found themselves in at that time,” said Crawford, who works at Boston’s Webster Clinic and serves as interim chief medical officer at the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
She observed that many Black individuals cannot afford mental health programs and care due to factors like private treatment costs and insurance gaps.
Such desperation can leave people feeling “completely out of options on how to deal with the pain he was in at that moment,” Crawford said.
Some experts point to social factors underlying these economic patterns.
“Mental health disparities in the Black community is not accidental,” said University of Michigan Social Work Professor Daphne C. Watkins. “They are the predictable result of structural racism” in educational systems, employment opportunities and other societal areas.
Watkins, who founded the YBMen Project providing young Black men safe spaces to discuss mental health, masculinity and social support, cited studies showing 10% of Black adults experience moderate to severe depression, while 18% have anxiety disorders.
However, Black men typically avoid mental health treatment due to cultural pressures in addition to financial barriers, Watkins noted. Without proper outlets, stress from family, work and relationships accumulates.
“For a long time, in the Black community, we didn’t talk about anxiety. Now, you have to talk about it hand in hand along with depression.”
Others strongly reject mental health as justification for domestic violence.
“To say they’re mentally ill, that doesn’t cut it,” Tate said. “There are people who are depressed or people who have schizophrenia and don’t harm the their partners, much less kill them.”
Both Shaneiqua Elkins and Cerina Fairfax might have faced mental health struggles too, Tate noted, and they both “had the same access or ability to go and purchase a gun” but chose differently.
“The mental illness is not what we’re talking about here,” she said.
