Texas - Police say a Houston-area woman fatally shot her two daughters before officers shot and killed her.
The incident happened about 5pm on Friday in front of a home just outside the Houston suburb of Fulshear.
The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office identified the mother as 42-year-old Christy Sheats and her daughters as 22-year-old Taylor Sheats and 17-year-old Madison Sheats.
Sheriff Troy Nehls says the shooting apparently climaxed a family argument, but the reason for the argument remains unclear.
Nehls says the two younger women had already been shot when a Fulshear police officer arrived and saw the mother with a gun in her hand, apparently preparing to shoot one of her daughters again. The officer shot and killed the woman.
Authorities on Tuesday released 911 calls that capture the panic in their home before the mother killed her two daughters, as well as in the home of a neighbour after the shootings.
In the first call, a woman is heard crying, “Please! Forgive me! Please! Don't shoot!” After a scream, she cries, “Please! I'm sorry!” and “Please! Don't point that gun at her!” Another woman is heard saying, “I promise you, whatever you want,” before the call is disconnected.
In the second call, a woman is heard saying, weakly, “She shot 'em.”
In the third call, a neighbour describes Madison and Taylor apparently still alive, lying in the street in front of their house.
The neighbour describes Christy Sheats kneeling over her eldest daughter and shooting her dead. Madison Sheats later died at a hospital.
A Facebook profile consistent with Sheats' biographical details included a pro-gun post, alongside posts about how much she loved members of her family.
AP