texas

Police Had Previous Run-Ins with Mom Who Killed Daughters

Officers had been called out 14 times since 2012 to the home of a mother who killed her two daughters and was fatally shot by police, a Texas sheriff's office said Monday.

Some of the calls were related to alarm issues, the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. But officials said that due to legal constraints by the county attorney, they couldn't describe the other calls for service.

Sheriff's office spokeswoman Caitilin Espinosa had told People magazine that prior calls had involved a "mental crisis" related to 42-year-old Christy Sheats.

Sheriff Troy Nehls said a family argument led to the shooting Friday evening at a home just outside the Houston suburb of Fulshear. Prior to the shooting, Sheats convened a family meeting in the living room that was attended by her husband, Jason Sheats, and her daughters, Taylor Sheats, 22, and Madison Sheats, 17, according to the sheriff's office.

"During that meeting, Christy Sheats held up a gun and shot both girls," the sheriff's office said.

Jason Sheats and the daughters ran outside, where Madison Sheats collapsed and died. Jason Sheats ran to the end of a cul-de-sac.

Taylor Sheats was shot again by her mother on the street. A witness told investigators Christy Sheats then went back in the home, reloaded her gun and shot Taylor once more.

When officers arrived, they saw Christy Sheats shooting one of her daughters in the street, the sheriff's office said.

An officer fatally shot Christy Sheats after she refused to obey commands to drop her handgun. Taylor Sheats was taken to a Houston hospital, where she died.

A Facebook profile consistent with Sheats' biographical details included a pro-gun post, alongside posts about how much she loved members of her family.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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