Texas gunman kills at least 6 including children – police

CHICAGO, USA (UPDATED) – A lone gunman killed at least 6 people, most of them children, during a domestic dispute in Texas on Wednesday, July 9, that triggered a tense ongoing standoff with armed police.

A woman was also fighting for her life after suffering a gunshot wound to the head during the incident in Spring, outside Houston, Harris County Constable Ron Hickman told Agence France-Presse.

Hickman said 4 or 5 children, some as young as 8, were killed and at least one man also died in the shooting.

The woman was able to tell authorities where the suspect, a relative, was headed, triggering a police chase that lasted at least 20 minutes.

“We got him in a cul-de-sac,” said Hickman, after at least an hour had passed during which the suspect sat in his vehicle surrounded by about 50 police with their guns drawn. There were at least a dozen patrol cars waiting to pounce.

Hickman said a large military-style SWAT truck was parked right in front of the suspect’s vehicle to prevent him from fleeing.

“The suspect is engaged in a dialogue with our sheriff’s office,” Hickman said.

The shooting was the latest in a spate of similar incidents in a country plagued by gun violence.

US President Barack Obama has warned that America needs to do some “soul-searching” on gun control, which remains relatively lax despite regular gun rampages.

On May 23, a student with mental problems killed six people and then himself in California, while on June 5 a gunman killed one person and injured two others on a campus in Seattle.

In June, a couple with possible anti-government militia links shot dead two police and a civilian in Las Vegas, and a teenage gunman shot a 14-year-old student dead at an Oregon high school. – Rappler.com