a good friend and fellow fraternity brother of mine, along with his little sister and mother were shot today in their home by their father. the father then took his own life after a stand off with authorities. i've been told all three will survive. i'm asking you to put them in your prayers tonight. God bless.
Missed the news tonight...if anyone doesn't feel to bad posting a bit of what happened, I'd appreciate it. I'm very sorry. I hope they will be okay.
Here you go Princess: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory2/2019128 SWAT standoff ends with death of suspect By PEGGY O'HARE and S.K. BARDWELL Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle A financially stressed engineer accused of shooting his two children and school-teacher wife this morning has apparently taken his own life, ending a SWAT standoff at their home in northwest Harris County. A SWAT squad from the Houston Police Department entered the house in the 1300 block of Town Moor Court just before noon and found Joseph Donovan, 51, dead from a gunshot wound that's presumed to be self-inflicted. His wife, Susan Donovan, a 49-year-old school teacher; son, James Donovan, 21; and daughter Bailey Donovan, 19, were rushed to Memorial Hermann Hospital but are expected to survive. Police initially reported that Donovan shot the family's pets as well, although that has not been confirmed. Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Ron Hickman said the man had been depressed because he recently lost his own business and had been so despondent his wife had urged him to seek counseling. The family had just moved to the Gleannloch Farms subdivision from a more upscale neighborhood this week. Hickman gave the following account of this morning's standoff: Around 7:15 a.m. Joseph Donovan kicked in the door of his children's bedrooms and shot them while they were sleeping, his daughter in the neck and his son in the jaw. He then attacked his wife, shooting her in the chest. When he ran out of ammunition, he went after her with a knife. The victims, however, were able to flee to neighbors' homes. One neighbor said the daughter banged on her door for help, hysterical and covered in blood. "I didn't know her because they just moved in two days ago, so when I opened the door I was just shocked," said Robbie Yobanovic, 35. "She said her dad had shot her, her mom and her brother." Yobanovic said the wife and son had collapsed on another neighbor's porch. The wife wasn't talking and was slumped over, Yobanovic said, while the son was glassy-eyed and appeared to be in shock. "He said he wasn't feeling very well." The neighbors called 911, and Susan Donovan was airlifted to the hospital by LifeFlight helicopter. The son and daughter were transported by ambulance. In the meantime, Joseph Donovan barricaded himself in his house. SWAT negotiators tried to phone the gunman, but when Donovan answered, he told them they had the wrong number and hung up. Repeated attempts to talk to Donovan after that were unsuccessful. Authorities did not immediately say whether any notes or clues were found to explain the rampage. The family had just moved to the upper-middle-class neighborhood with new brick homes and landscaped yards, but Loretta James, the real estate agent who closed the sale on Monday, said the home was much smaller than the one that the family moved out of in Houston's Northhampton subdivision. A neighbor in Northhampton as well as their Realtor, James said the family was upset about leaving the home where the children had grown up. "They were the perfect family," she said. "They loved their children. They cared so much about each other." Financial setbacks as well as health problems had put a lot of stress on the father, she said. With the children bound for college soon, the couple had reluctantly decided to make the move to a smaller home, she said.. "He was under a lot of stress," said the shocked James. "They all were. "
Saw it on TV. Awful thing, man. They said the man was supposedly depressed after losing his business...the wife tried to get him to talk to somebody but obviously he didn't listen. This is terrible. The man needed help. It's a miracle the three lived, though; Praise Jesus. <><
