A Texas police officer killed a mother who shot her two daughters and defied an order to put down her weapon, authorities said.
One daughter died and the second one was critically injured during the shooting Friday night in the Houston suburb of Westheimer Lakes-North.
The officer was forced to shoot the woman after she refused to put down her weapon when police arrived, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The daughters were found on the streets with gunshot wounds, CNN affiliate KTRK reported. The woman’s husband was taken away by paramedics, but was not injured, the affiliate reported.
Sheriff Troy Nehls said deputies had gone to the family’s home in the past, but he declined to provide additional details.
“It would be too premature to give you a motive as to why something like this took place,” Nehls told the affiliate. “The best we can to pray for the father and husband so he can work through this.”