The Alarmingly Common Reality Of Men Killing Their Partners And Children

Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, in the basement of their home in Northern Virginia on Thursday morning. After reportedly shooting her several times, Justin Fairfax went upstairs where he shot and killed himself. Their son, who was home at the time, along with their teenage daughter, called 911.

Days later, a Louisiana man named Shamar Elkins woke up and shot his wife, Shaneiqua Pugh, multiple times, including in the head and stomach. He then shot and killed eight children, seven of whom were his own. He killed three boys and five girls, ranging in ages from 3 to 11, “execution style,” according to local police. He also shot another woman, the mother of the eighth child who died. Law enforcement later found Elkins and opened fire. Elkins died, but it’s unclear if officers killed him or if he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Pugh has “very serious injuries” but is expected to survive.

Domestic violence-related murder-suicide — like these stories making headline news this week — is extremely common in the United States. An incident in which an abuser kills their partner and then dies by suicide happens on average more than once a day, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. Of those tragedies, 85% involved a firearm and 95% were women killed by male partners.

These cases are defined as any instance when someone kills their current or former intimate partner and/or their children, and then attempts to kill themselves. There are also cases, like Elkins, where an abuser kills two or more family members before possibly killing themselves — tragic scenarios known as “family annihilation” or “familicide.”

There were reportedly marital issues in both Justin Fairfax’s and Elkins’ cases. Justin Fairfax received paperwork related to the couple’s divorce proceedings two weeks before the murder-suicide; a judge reportedly had granted physical custody of the kids to Cerina Fairfax and ordered Justin to move out by April 30. Elkins and Pugh were in the middle of separating and were due in court this week. The couple had been arguing before the shooting, a relative of one of the women shot told The Associated Press.

“Domestic violence is about power and control, and many abusers choose to escalate their violent behaviors when a partner attempts to end the relationship,” the National Network to End Domestic Violence said in a statement last week. “Tragically, this escalation can include killing a partner as the ultimate act of control.”

Shamar Elkins (left) shot his wife and killed his seven children. Justin Fairfax (right) shot and killed his wife before killing himself.

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Guns are a uniquely lethal tool in domestic violence situations. When an abuser has access to a gun, the risk that he will shoot and kill his intimate partner increases by 1,000%. Abusers with access to a gun are five times more likely to kill a female victim, with an average of 70 women shot and killed by an intimate partner every month in the U.S. Black women experience intimate partner homicide-suicide with a gun at nearly a 20% higher rate than white women.

Records show that Elkins had at least two prior convictions, including a 2019 charge for the illegal use of weapons. Family and friends of Elkins said he had been struggling with mental health issues and had recently expressed thoughts of suicide. The shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana, marks the country’s deadliest mass shooting since January 2024. Tom Arceneaux, mayor of Shreveport, described the shooting as “maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had” in the northwestern city of Louisiana.

Justin Fairfax reportedly bought a handgun in 2022, the same year his term as Virginia’s lieutenant governor ended and he was dealing with mental health issues. Justin Fairfax, a Democrat, was elected to Virginia’s second-highest office in 2017, making history as the second Black person to be elected statewide in Virginia. He ran for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2021, but allegations of sexual assault derailed his political career.

“It shouldn’t take tragedy-making headlines to spur a response. Yet part of the reason we get such a strong reaction to incidents like these two is because of the lack of knowledge about different forms of abuse and rampant stereotypes about who experiences harm and what an abusive person looks like,” Nikhita Ved, chief programs officer at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, told HuffPost.

“Abusive partners are not always the scary monster in the closet — they can be and often are people we think we know well.”