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Texas Woman Fatally Shoots 2 Daughters and Is Killed by the Police Texas Woman Fatally Shoots 2 Daughters and Is Killed by the Police
(35 minutes later)
The small Texas city of Katy was left shaken after a woman fatally shot her two grown daughters and was then killed by a police officer, according to the authorities.The small Texas city of Katy was left shaken after a woman fatally shot her two grown daughters and was then killed by a police officer, according to the authorities.
Under different circumstances, in a different era, the story of a shooting and a police confrontation on a street in a small city of 14,000 people might not have drawn much attention, but this one became widely publicized over the weekend thanks in part to the power of social media, where gun violence remains a subject of fierce debate.Under different circumstances, in a different era, the story of a shooting and a police confrontation on a street in a small city of 14,000 people might not have drawn much attention, but this one became widely publicized over the weekend thanks in part to the power of social media, where gun violence remains a subject of fierce debate.
Law enforcement officers said they responded to reports of gunfire at the family’s home in the suburb of Houston on Friday found the two young women — Taylor Sheats, 22, and Madison Sheats, 17 — lying in the street after having been shot.Law enforcement officers said they responded to reports of gunfire at the family’s home in the suburb of Houston on Friday found the two young women — Taylor Sheats, 22, and Madison Sheats, 17 — lying in the street after having been shot.
Their mother, Christy Sheats, 42, was standing nearby with a gun in her hand, the authorities said.Their mother, Christy Sheats, 42, was standing nearby with a gun in her hand, the authorities said.
When the mother refused to drop the weapon, an officer shot her once in the chest, Sheriff Troy E. Nehls of the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office said.When the mother refused to drop the weapon, an officer shot her once in the chest, Sheriff Troy E. Nehls of the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office said.
The sheriff’s office said on Sunday that details about what had prompted the shootings remained murky and that the investigation was continuing. Sheriff Nehls said that crisis intervention teams had been sent to the home more than once in recent years over turmoil that seemed to revolve around the mother. The sheriff’s office said on Sunday that details about what had prompted the shootings remained murky and that the investigation was continuing. But the CBS affiliate KHOU reported on Monday that the mother had called a meeting, and when the family gathered in the living room, she pulled a weapon and opened fire.
The daughters and the father ran out the front door and the mother followed, the authorities said, according to KHOU. The father ran into a cul-de-sac, Madison collapsed, the mother shot Taylor and then went back inside to reload. She returned outside and fired at the older daughter a third time, according to arriving officers who witnessed the shooting, KHOU said. The police found a .38-caliber handgun at the scene.
Sheriff Nehls said that crisis intervention teams had been sent to the home more than once in recent years over turmoil that seemed to revolve around the mother.
The bloodshed on a quiet middle-class street in the city, which is about 30 miles west of Houston, left neighbors and the victims’ loved ones shattered.The bloodshed on a quiet middle-class street in the city, which is about 30 miles west of Houston, left neighbors and the victims’ loved ones shattered.
The sheriff’s office said that Jason Sheats, Christy Sheats’s husband and the father of two sisters, had witnessed the killings. Sheriff Nehls said on Sunday that Jason Sheats, Christy Sheats’s husband and the father of two sisters, was “ having a very difficult time with this.”
“The father is having a very difficult time with this,” Sheriff Nehls said on Sunday. “They seemed to be an all-American family. Then you realize that what happens behind closed doors — you just don’t know.” “They seemed to be an all-American family,” the sheriff said. “Then you realize that what happens behind closed doors — you just don’t know.”
A friend of Christy Sheats’s told a local broadcaster, KTRK-TV, that she had seen no indication of any turmoil that could have made her snap. Ms. Sheats spoke proudly of her daughters, the woman, Catherine Knowles, said.A friend of Christy Sheats’s told a local broadcaster, KTRK-TV, that she had seen no indication of any turmoil that could have made her snap. Ms. Sheats spoke proudly of her daughters, the woman, Catherine Knowles, said.
“This is not the Christy that I know — it’s just not,” she said. “I thought it was the wrong person. It had to be.”“This is not the Christy that I know — it’s just not,” she said. “I thought it was the wrong person. It had to be.”
Taylor Sheats’s Facebook profile says she had studied at Lone Star College at CyFair in Cypress, Tex., and indicated hopes of becoming an artist. Madison Sheats was to begin her senior year at Seven Lakes High School in Katy this fall.Taylor Sheats’s Facebook profile says she had studied at Lone Star College at CyFair in Cypress, Tex., and indicated hopes of becoming an artist. Madison Sheats was to begin her senior year at Seven Lakes High School in Katy this fall.