Texas boy, 12, escapes before mom, sister die in apparent murder-suicide, police say
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 12-year-old boy in Texas escaped before his mother shot his 8-year-old sister and then herself during an hours-long police standoff Monday, investigators said.
A 35-year-old woman barricaded herself and two children inside a home in the Red Bird neighborhood of Dallas following an argument with her husband just after midnight, FOX4 Dallas-Fort Worth reported. The husband told police his wife grabbed a gun and fired several shots at him before he escaped. No details on the argument were given.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“It is with a heavy heart that I briefed the media today about a tragic domestic violence situation involving a child,” Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall wrote on Twitter. “People are worried about #COVID19, crime and the economy. Just know that help is available and it will get better.”
While the husband was able to escape from the house, Hall told reporters at the scene that police and a SWAT team spent several hours negotiating with the woman for the release of their children and her surrender.
The 12-year-old boy was eventually able to get away unharmed just before 3 a.m., Hall said, but the 8-year-old girl remained inside. Police did not say whether the boy was released or if he had escaped on his own.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SWAT officers tried negotiating with the woman for several more hours, Hall said. Officers entered the home, but the woman fired several shots, grazing one officer in the arm. Police made another attempt to speak with the woman and heard two rounds fired.
The woman and the girl were found dead at the scene in an apparent murder-suicide, Hall said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The woman and girl were found dead after officers tried negotiating for several hours. (Dallas Police Department)
“Throughout my almost 22 years in law enforcement, these kinds of scenarios are the absolute worst,” Hall said.
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The department said it has seen a recent uptick in domestic violence for myriad reasons and shared its PSA video urging victims to seek help.