Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Galveston, TX: Three dead in apparent murder-suicide


Tuesday, September 01, 2009 | 11:56 AM

Three people are dead, and police are calling it a double murder suicide.

Police are not saying much, but they are calling this a domestic violence incident. It ended after an eight hour SWAT standoff overnight. It all happened at a home in the 3800 block of Avenue M in Galveston.

Police responded to a neighbor's call about shots being fired at the house just before 10pm. When they arrived, police found a woman fatally shot in the front yard. They called in the SWAT team, and over the course of about eight hours, they tried to get a response from inside the home, where they had heard someone speaking.

At 6:20am, police decided to enter the home, where they found another woman dead, along with the suspected gunman, who had fatally shot himself in the head.

"The decision was made to fire tear gas into the residence, so the officers could attempt to make entry into the residence," explained Lt. DJ Alvarez of the Galveston Police Department.

Attempts to make communication with the suspect had repeatedly failed by the time officers decided to move in, according to Lt. Alvarez.

"Also, daylight was approaching, so people would be going to school and work," he added. "For the citizens' safety, they decided to make entry into the residence."

The Galveston County District Attorney's office has joined in the investigation. Police say the three victims were related, but they have not released the names, relationships or ages of the dead. They say all three died early in the incident.

Police do say the man has a record with Galveston County authorities, but they say it is not related to domestic violence. They also say no note has been found.

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