Austin, Texas –
An 8-year-old child and four others died in the home after a Texas man took out a rifle and started shooting at his neighbors. Officials said after his family asked him to stop shooting in the yard because they were trying to sleep. Saturday.
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said authorities are still looking for a 39-year-old suspect after an overnight shooting in the town of Cleveland, about 45 miles (72 km) north of Houston. He said the suspect, whom he did not identify, used an AR-style rifle in the shooting.
“Everyone who was shot was shot above the neck, almost execution style,” Capers said at a press conference at the scene.
Capers said there were 10 people in the house and no one else was injured. said to have been found.
“The Honduran women who lay over these children were doing it to protect their children,” Capers said.
Capers said two others were investigated at the scene and released.
The confrontation happened after the family approached the fence and asked the suspect to stop firing, Capers said. According to Capers, the suspect replied that it was his property and that one of the homes obtained a video of the suspect walking to the front door with a rifle.
Three of the victims were female and one was male. Their names have not been released. Capers said the victims were between the ages of 8 and about 40.
Capers said authorities had previously visited the suspect’s home. “A representative came over and spoke to him about him shooting in the yard,” he said.
Capers said some of the people in the house had just moved out of Houston earlier this week, but he wasn’t sure if they planned to stay there.
The United States is setting a record pace of genocide in 2023. Violence is driven by a variety of motives, including murder-suicide and domestic violence. gang retaliation; school shootings and workplace revenge; Since January 1, each has claimed the lives of four or more people at once.
———-
Associated Press writer Ken Miller contributed to this report.
