💔 SHOCKING DETAILS REVEALED AS BULLETIN STILL STABBED IN FACE AFTER D.E.A.D.L.Y SHOOTING

Shamar Elkins, 31, killed eight children, including three he shared with Christina Snow, on Sunday, April 19. Christina was shot in the face in the attack in Shreveport, her cousin Jamarckus Snow told NBC News on Tuesday, April 21.

He said that Christina’s mother told him the bullet went through her nose and remains lodged in her face as she recovers in the hospital. “Doctors say they didn’t want to do surgery and risk it,” he told the outlet.

Jamarckus paid tribute to his cousin, telling the outlet that she was someone who always worked for and talked about her children. “It’s devastating,” he said.

The shooting took place at a residence in Shreveport shortly before 6 a.m. on Sundayy and claimed the lives of eight children: Jayla Elkins, 3; Shayla Elkins, 5; Kayla Pugh, 6; Layla Pugh, 7; Markaydon Pugh, 10; Sariahh Snow, 11; Khedarrion Snow, 6; and Braylon Snow, 5, the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office previously shared in a statement to PEOPLE.

Seven of the eight victims were Elkins’ children, and the other child was a cousin, the coroner’s office said.

Jamarckus went on to share that Christina has memory issues after the shooting, and doesn’t always remember that her children died. “I heard yesterday she woke up and was like, ‘I got to get my kids ready for school,’ ” he told the outlet.

“She’ll lose memory of what happened. One day, she’ll know, and the next day, she’s thinking her kids [are] still there.”

Christina was one of two women who were shot but survived. The other was Elkins’ wife, Shaneiqua Pugh, who had to undergo surgery as a result, per the Associated Press. PEOPLE previously reported that a 12-year-old girl survived the shooting by jumping off the roof of the home.

Shreveport Police spokesperson Christopher Bordelon told PEOPLE that the girl, who was not a child of the suspect, suffered broken bones.

Following the shooting, Elkins carjacked a vehicle and died following a police pursuit, according to authorities.

The investigation continues as authorities look into the shooting, which was believed to be a domestic incident. On Tuesday, federal prosecutors arrested a 56-year-old man in connection with the gun Elkins used, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana confirmed in a statement.

The suspect was a former National Guardsman and was arrested in 2019 and later convicted of illegal use of a firearm, per NBC News.

The shooter’s relative said he appeared to be in a mental health crisis in the days before the killings, and that he had exhibited ominous behavior prior to the shooting, according to The New York Times.

Jamarckus told NBC News that he would see Elkins at family events but didn’t know him well. “He would distance himself from people, like he wasn’t the person that would just come out and talk to you,” he explained. “He would sit to himself or he would go sit in the car.”

He added that he hadn’t seen Elkins at a family function for years, but would see him around the neighborhood. He described the shooting as a shock, telling the outlet, “The times I did see him or I did go by her house or something, he had the kids.”

“He spent time with them; he was there for them. I can’t say that he didn’t love his kids because he did. It was unexpected,” Jamarckus added.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.