A woman shot and killed her two young children inside a southwest Houston hotel before turning the gun on herself, authorities said Friday.
Houston police responded shortly before noon to the Residence Inn by Marriott on Kirby Drive near Old Spanish Trail, not far from NRG Stadium, after receiving a report of a shooting.
According to Houston Police Department Lt. Larry Crowson, hotel staff became concerned after noticing that someone had been staying in one of the rooms since Wednesday but had not been seen or heard from.
When employees went to check the room, they discovered three people dead inside.
Police found a 40-year-old woman with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A 6-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy were also found dead from gunshot wounds.
“Right now, preliminarily, we believe this to be a murder-suicide,” Crowson said. “This does appear to involve mental health issues.”
Investigators have not yet determined exactly when the shootings happened, although Crowson said it does not appear that the deaths occurred on Friday.
“Very tragic incident today — two children unfortunately killed at a very young age,” he said.
Authorities have not released the identities of the woman or either child.
Crowson also urged anyone experiencing mental health struggles to seek help by calling 311 or 211.
