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Texas shooting: Father 'kills four of his children and two adults' in Houston gun attack Houston shooting: Man who 'killed four children in gun rampage' captured after three-hour standoff with police
(about 9 hours later)
A father opened fire at a suburban Houston home, killing four of his children as well as two adults who were with them and critically wounding his 15-year-old daughter, authorities said. A shooting rampage in suburban Houston that left six members of a single household dead, including four children, could have been even worse but for the quick thinking of the lone survivor in the home: a 15-year-old girl who managed to warn police of the gunman’s next planned shooting, despite being critically wounded herself.
The teenager was able to call police and later warned that her father planned to go to her grandparents' home to kill them, Deputy Thomas Gilliland of the Harris County Sheriff's Office said. The suspected gunman eventually surrendered after a three-hour standoff with deputies who had cornered him in a nearby street. When police arrived at the home in Spring, a bedroom community north of Houston, late Wednesday, they found five people inside already deceased from gunshot wounds. A sixth was declared dead after being flown by helicopter to a Houston hospital.
Gilliand said there were “two hours of constant talking with a man armed with a pistol to his head and who had just killed six people.” The names of the victims had not been released but police said they were two boys, ages four and 13, two girls, ages six and nine, and a man and a woman both in their 30s. Still alive was the teenage girl who told them that the gunman had left and was en route to another home nearby to kill other members of what appeared to be one extended family.
The sheriff's department said precinct deputy constables were called to the house on Wednesday evening and found two adults and three children dead. Another child later died at a hospital. Agents rushed to the second home apparently arriving as the gunman, identified yesterday as Ron Lee Haskell, 33, was just drawing up in his car. A slow-speed chase ensued, eventually ending when the driver found himself trapped in a nearby cul-de-sac. There was then a lengthy stand-off involving SWAT negotiators and eventually, late into the night, Mr Haskell stepped out of the car, sank to his knees and surrendered.
Two boys, ages 4 and 14, two girls, ages 7 and 9, a 39-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman were killed, Gilliland said. The gunman and his wife are estranged, and she was out of the state, Gilliland said. All of the children were theirs. Two of the dead children were adopted, he said. “As soon as they got over there, he came driving up, and that’s when the chase started,” Assistant Chief Deputy Constable Mark Herman said, crediting the victim's information with saving the lives of those who were living in the second house, identified as a couple also in their 30s. 
“It appears this stems from a domestic issue with a breakup in the family, from what our witness has told us,” Assistant Chief Deputy Constable Mark Herman of the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office told reporters. He did not explain further. Mr Haskell was due to appear in court later yesterday to be charged in the case. Contrary to earlier reports, it did not appear that he was father to any of the children he is alleged to have shot and there was no information on a possible motive for the killings although the surviving teenager reportedly indicated that it was connected to some kind of domestic dispute involving “someone who had left the family”.
Police arrested the suspect after a two-hour standoff Authorities did not release the identities of the victims or the suspect, nor did they say whether the adults who were killed were related to the children or their father. Speaking to the Houston Chronicle, neighbours of the victims said they that they had all belonged to a devout Mormon family. “They were very sweet and their kids were very shy. This is a sad, sad day,” a woman from one house across the road said. John Barros, an estate agent, said he had worked with one of the adults who had lived in the house. “It’s a great family … very religious,” he said. “They pray every day.”
Gilliland said the teenager was in a “very critical condition”. Police arrested the suspect after a two-hour standoff “It appears this stems from a domestic issue with a breakup in the family from what our witness has told us,” Mr Herman told reporters. At a press conference Constable Ronald Hickman also said that by providing arriving officers with “critical information” the teenage survivor had surely prevented a wider bloodbath. She spoke with officers moments before being flown herself in a medical helicopter to a hospital for urgent emergency care.
Authorities said the daughter's information helped them intercept the suspect. The suspected gunman then led authorities on a chase until being boxed in. Finally, after hours of waiting and negotiations, the man emerged from his car, raised his hands and sank to his knees as deputies placed him under arrest. Moreover, the officers had apparently arrived at the second home with only seconds to spare. “While quickly responding to that location, we saw him coming up to that residence where other relatives of that family lived and we assumed he meant to shoot them as well,” Constable Hickman said.
Gilliland described the man as in his 30s with a beard “and cool as a cucumber.” He said that when he and other officers first approached, the man was “just sitting in his car looking out at us.” The cul-de-sac stand-off between the shooter and the police settled in after his car was successfully trapped between two armoured police vehicles. While the shooter was described as being “cool as a cucumber” through the three-hours of back and forth with negotiators outside, he also apparently spent some of that time with his pistol pointed to his own head.  Police meanwhile had evacuated residents of nearby homes fearful of renewed violence.
Said Precinct 4 Constable Ron Hickman, “He was in the car for three hours. He was worn down like the rest of us. He came out of the car without resistance.” However, Mr Haskell’s surrender avoided all further bloodshed and he was instantly taken into custody. “This concluded the way we wanted it to,” said County Sheriff’s deputy, Thomas Gilliland.
AP