6 dead, including 4 children, in shooting at house in Texas

HOUSTON -- The suspect in a north Harris County shooting that left six people, including four children dead, and a seventh injured has finally ended an hours-old standoff and surrendered himself to authorities.

The victims' bodies were discovered at a home in the 700 block of Leaflet Lane near Interstate 45 and Cypresswood. According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, three children and two adults died at the scene, while a mother and a child were transported via LifeFlight to a hospital. That child has since died and the mother, though in critical condition, is now the lone survivor of the attack.

Harris County Pct. 4 deputies say the mother was shot in the head but managed to call 911 and tell them that a family member was the gunman.

"It appears this stems from a domestic issue with a breakup in the family from what our witness has told us," Assistant Chief Deputy Constable Mark Herman of the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office told reporters.

The injured mother told deputies the suspect was going to a restaurant to kill another family member who works there. Deputies were able to intercept, chase and corner the suspect in his vehicle in a cul-de-sac about 3 miles from the shooting scene, authorities said.

A line of about two dozen patrol cars followed the suspect vehicle to the end of the street shortly before 7 p.m. There, the suspect's boxed-in vehicle remained for hours. As darkness fell over the neighborhood, two armored trucks were brought in to block the car from behind and the front as negotiators began their work. Those talks continued for at least three hours before the suspect finally surrendered himself to authorities.

Sheriff's Sgt. Thomas Gilliland described the man as in his 30s with a beard "and cool as a cucumber." He said that when he and other officers approached, the man was "just sitting in his car looking out at us."

Residents in the area were forced to evacuate their homes during the entire standoff.

"They actually knocked on the door, my boyfriend answered. And he was like, 'Can y'all get out as quick as possible?'" witness Samantha Aytes said. "I was like pretty freaked out because nothing ever happens in spring. So I just wasn't expecting it at all."

The suspect has locked himself in the vehicle and authorities are trying to negotiate with him. Deputies say the suspect, who's in his mid 40s, has a gun to his head.

Back at the scene on Leaflet, neighbors say the family has lived here for some time.

"It's just a terrible thing. I don't know what could have happened. " neighbor Dale Collier said. "Just a bad deal, bad, bad deal. You wouldn't think something like that would happen in a neighborhood like this. It's real quiet, never anything going on."