A 12-year-old girl and her father are recovering from gunshot wounds after she and a friend plotted for several weeks to murder their families, according to the Parker County Sheriff’s Office.
In a press release, the sheriff's department said the shooting occurred at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday at a home in northwest Parker County. Deputies found the 12-year-old girl lying in the street with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head, authorities said.
The Parker County Sheriff’s Office said her 38-year-old father was found inside the family’s home with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Both were flown to local hospitals.
“Sheriff’s investigators said the juvenile is believed to have shot her father, fled the scene, and later shot herself. A handgun was located lying underneath the juvenile suspect,” the press release states.
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According to the sheriff's department, the 12-year-old had planned for several weeks to murder her family and pets. She had been in contact with another juvenile girl from Lufkin who had also planned to murder her father but did not go through with the plan.
The pair had then planned to run away together to Georgia, the sheriff’s office said.
Lufkin Police are also investigating the incident.
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“It doesn’t matter if they live in a small town or a big city. Things like this can happen, unfortunately,” said Lufkin Communications Director Jessica Pebsworth. “I will say that this case is definitely a time to remind parents that it’s very important to know who your children are friends with, whether that’s in the classroom, social media apps, Snapchat, TikTok and then also gaming platforms.”
Lufkin Police are also investigating the incident. Parker County Sheriff’s investigators have charged the Lufkin juvenile with criminal conspiracy in the planning of the murder plot.
“Due to the injuries, the age of the juveniles and the sensitive case matter, information released regarding this case will be limited,” said Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier.
Authier said the case is in its early stages and is under active investigation.
