Police: Five Children, Three Adults Found Dead Inside Texas Home

So I just ran across this horrible story out of Texas on Gawker .

Authorities say the bodies of eight people, including five children, were found inside a Houston-area home Saturday night after an hour-long standoff with a man who shot at police, the Associated Press reports.

According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to the house to perform a welfare check at around 9 p.m. when they spotted a dead child through a window and decided to enter the residence. From NBC News:

“A sergeant and three deputies made entry into the house and at that point the 49-year-old subject began to shoot a weapon in the house. Our deputies pulled back and formed a perimeter,” [Deputy Thomas] Gilliland said.

The negotiator was called in and the suspect was arrested without incident about an hour later, Gilliland said.

Officers were then able to enter the house, at which point they discovered the eight bodies."
CNN reports that it is not currently known how the victims were killed or what their relationship to the suspect might have been.

“Homicide detectives have taken over the operation along with our crime scene unit,” said Deputy Thomas Gilliland. “Due to the amount of victims and the proximity to the people in the house, it’ll be a scene that’s going on for a while.”

I couldn't fathom the horror's of going into a scene like that. That would definitely change a person for life. So, so sad.

Another thing I don't get is cops, this day in age, are killing people left and right for stupid stuff like minor traffic violations, or weed, petty theft and yet here is a guy that murdered eight people, five of which were freaking children, shot at the officers and yet he is STILL ALIVE. Now the folks of Texas are stuck paying for this guys incarceration, courts and everything else that comes with it. It's mind boggling.

...smh

Link to another article from Accociated Press

Deputies discovered the bodies of five children and three adults in a Houston-area home after a standoff with a suspect holed up in the house ended early Sunday.

The incident started late Saturday night after authorities responded to a call to perform a check on the residence, said Thomas Gilliland, a spokesman for the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

It was unclear who made the call.

When the deputies arrived at the scene, they tried to summon someone to the door, but no one showed up, Gilliland said.

"Information was obtained that a male was in the home and had a warrant for an aggravated assault on a family member," the spokesman said.

Deputies surrounding the house saw a child's body through the window and decided to enter the home, according to Gilliland. The suspect started shooting from inside the house, forcing them to pull back and call in hostage negotiators and a unit that specializes in high-risk situations, he said.

Negotiators talked the suspect into coming out and then arrested him, Gilliland said.

"Upon entering into the home ... to check for the welfare for any other people in the house, the bodies of eight victims were found inside the residence," he said.

The spokesman said authorities have been called to the home before, but the nature of the calls was not available.

It's unclear how the victims were killed, whether they are relatives, or their ages and genders. A homicide team is investigating.

No more information was immediately available.

a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

Not really anything I can add other than repeat what you said: Tragic.

It's always worse when children are involved.

This selective shooting policy is what's causing the social outrage across the States right now.

According to many in other threads, he shot, so he should really be dead...

According to others in many threads, if you can disarm and arrest the suspect without gunfire, that's good...


Let's see if those roles reverse now.

RIP.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

This is tragic #ing tragic. Had I of been the cop entering the house upon seeing dead children and being shot at I would of gone PTSD on the dude and killed him. He wouldn't of walked out of that one. Then again it might be better as dead people don't talk. Just a tragedy all around and makes my stomach turn.

a reply to: TechniXcality

What if he arrived after a home break in saw his family and went to his gun locker and thought the police were returning intruders?

I'm speculating now, and it's not likely at all, but we need him to talk in my opinion.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

I agree in the interests of understanding the situation and for closure from friends and family the guy needs to live.

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs

Let's see if those roles reverse now.

It's really pretty simple.
No matter what you think of the crime or the criminal, you cannot give your police the freedom to execute people as and when they see fit, simply because of the crime someone imagines they committed.

Just look at this thread, with people already saying the police should have executed him. You don't know ANYTHING about the circumstances of those deaths, you don't even know that he was responsible for those deaths, but here you are ready to give those cops a license to kill.

You have a legal system for a reason. The police have a duty to take anyone believed guilty of a crime to a COURT.

originally posted by: TechniXcality
a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

I agree in the interests of understanding the situation and for closure from friends and family the guy needs to live.

For a little thing called JUSTICE to be served.

It's amazing how many Americans seem incapable of understanding this very simple concept, a cornerstone of our societies - that people are INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY by a COURT, not EXECUTED UNDER THE ASSUMPTION OF GUILT by a COP.

a reply to: Rocker2013

Let me put it this way brother, the guy needed to live atleast to the point of understanding the 8 murders that took place, and if it is found he is responsible shotgun justice wouldn't bother me one bit. Now you call that tyrannical knee jerk whatever.. It is what it is and that's how I feel about it

originally posted by: Rocker2013

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs

Let's see if those roles reverse now.

It's really pretty simple.
No matter what you think of the crime or the criminal, you cannot give your police the freedom to execute people as and when they see fit, simply because of the crime someone imagines they committed.

Just look at this thread, with people already saying the police should have executed him. You don't know ANYTHING about the circumstances of those deaths, you don't even know that he was responsible for those deaths, but here you are ready to give those cops a license to kill.

You have a legal system for a reason. The police have a duty to take anyone believed guilty of a crime to a COURT.

Not when they start firing weapons at police they don't.

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs
a reply to: TechniXcality

What if he arrived after a home break in saw his family and went to his gun locker and thought the police were returning intruders?

I'm speculating now, and it's not likely at all, but we need him to talk in my opinion.

1 What if someone else in the house killed them and committed suicide?
2 What if he had nothing to do with it and lost his mind when he discovered the bodies?
3 What if...

But people here don't want to think of any evidence gathering or process of investigation, that takes too much brain power, they'd rather have the man executed before any investigation at all.

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs

originally posted by: Rocker2013

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs

Let's see if those roles reverse now.

It's really pretty simple.
No matter what you think of the crime or the criminal, you cannot give your police the freedom to execute people as and when they see fit, simply because of the crime someone imagines they committed.

Just look at this thread, with people already saying the police should have executed him. You don't know ANYTHING about the circumstances of those deaths, you don't even know that he was responsible for those deaths, but here you are ready to give those cops a license to kill.

You have a legal system for a reason. The police have a duty to take anyone believed guilty of a crime to a COURT.

Not when they start firing weapons at police they don't.

Yes, they do, this is what Americans don't understand.
If there is any way to maintain life they are obliged to seek it, to maintain that life regardless of the situation, to enable JUSTICE to be done by a COURT.

Of course police officers should defend themselves, but this does not need to be an execution shot to the head. If they can subdue a criminal - even one shooting - with non-lethal means they are OBLIGED to do it.

I'm sorry if this upsets your preferred image of a Wild West, but that is the reality of it, and the fact that so many Americans seem unable to comprehend the notion of a justice system and limited force seems to go a long way to explaining just how you got into this mess of out of control cops to begin with.

If you keep excusing the execution of "presumed" criminals for police officers "defending" themselves, you end up with the situation you now have in the US.

Again, it's real simple, all those believed guilty of a crime deserve to face a court, not a firing squad. Police are supposed to use all means and methods to take suspects into custody safely and securely, and then maintain that safety and security until that person is either found guilty or innocent by a COURT.

I edited the op to add the article from The Associated Press, as it has a little more info about what happened since the Gawker article is a bit vague and creating speculation.

a reply to: Rocker2013

Nope insinuations like that you want to take the guy alive if at all possible as was stated. But once again if he is responsible I am a firm believe that heinous crime such as that are non correctable no amount of rehab or psychological services can fix that. And shot gun justice is appropriate, you either have the propensity to kill people in such a manner or you don't, from the details we have looks like a mass murder and a murderer firing upon authority's, we don't have more information until we do I'll leave the knee jerk out of it and hate. The way this discussion go's is death penalty or not and the pros and cons and burden on society.

originally posted by: Rocker2013

All those believed guilty of a crime deserve to face a court, not a firing squad.

What about the unarmed citizens that are being killed when the LEO's are not even sure if they committed a crime or not?

originally posted by: TechniXcality
a reply to: Rocker2013

Nope insinuations like that you want to take the guy alive if at all possible as was stated. But once again if he is responsible

So why do you have a legal system?
Are they not the ones who are charged with asserting guilt, or do you now want to hand that power to the police, to execute people in the spot on the assumption of crime?

originally posted by: SgtHamsandwich

originally posted by: Rocker2013

All those believed guilty of a crime deserve to face a court, not a firing squad.

What about the unarmed citizens that are being killed when the LEO's are not even sure if they committed a crime or not?

If someone is opening fire on people then of course they have to act to protect those people, but they also have to do so while preventing the criminal from being killed if they can.

They are then committing a crime by opening fire, obviously.

Again, you just don't seem to be understanding that POLICE ARE NOT JUDGES.

a reply to: Rocker2013

Uh...no, police are not "OBLIGATED" to meet a lethal force threat with non-lethal means. Where you got that idea from completely escapes me, as I've never seen one bit of case law that obligates law enforcement to what you claim they are obligated to do.

@ OP -

The guy they arrested had a warrant for aggravated assault on family.

click2houston.com...

And before anybody tries to play the race card in regard to being taken alive: surprise! He's black.

a reply to: Shamrock6

Exactly.

I was patiently awaiting your arrival to rebut the "Wild West" dig I received for nothing other than explaining exactly how it works...

Thanks buddy.

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: Rocker2013

@ OP -

The guy they arrested had a warrant for aggravated assault on family.

Yeah I seen that in the article from CNN, but I don't know what that really has to do with the price of tea in China as they were at the residence due to call to check on the house from someone else.

Probably something the police discovered after identifying the suspect and MSM threw it in to demonize him a bit further as if killing 8 members of his family wasn't enough. I mean FFS.

Only thing I can think of is maybe had the LEO's sought and arrested him sooner for said warrant, maybe this tragedy would have never happened.