A Texas man whose estranged wife refused to get back together shot and killed four members of his extended family, including his 8-year-old niece, before turning the gun on himself, police said.
Alrick “Shawn” Barrett, 46, opened fire at his mother-in-law’s home in Richmond, Texas, at about 7 a.m. Saturday after returning his young child from a visit, Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan said at a news conference Wednesday.
“The suspect wanted to come into the home, and the grandmother allowed him to come into the home,” Fagan said, adding that the woman “had no idea [about] his intent.”
Once inside, Barrett told his estranged wife that he wanted to reunite, but she refused, prompting the jilted husband to open fire, killing his spouse, her two adult siblings, her young niece and then himself, according to the sheriff.
Deputies responded to the scene on Cory Carnel Lane after getting a 911 call from Barrett’s 13-year-old nephew, who survived the slaughter by hiding in a closet with a 7-year-old child and their grandmother.
Authorities have not released the names of the victims as of Thursday, but a woman who identified herself as the grandmother, Hortense Fullerton, wrote in the description of a GoFundMe campaign that the “unforeseeable violence” claimed the lives of three of her five children, as well as her youngest grandchild.
Fullerton identified her massacred loved ones as her daughters, 44-year-old Francia Fullerton, who was Barrett’s wife, and 46-year-old Kacey Fullerton, her son, Omar Fullerton, 43, and her 8-year-old granddaughter, Aniah.
The grandmother also revealed that the mass shooting took place as her family gathered to celebrate a baby shower for her youngest daughter.
“I was so excited to have a full house with some of my kids and my grandbabies,” Fullerton wrote. “I could have never expected our day of celebration to turn into a day of unimaginable pain and mourning.”
“In just a few minutes, everything was forever changed,” she added.
Hortense Fullerton wrote that her slain daughter Francia is survived by four children, who will now live with her.
“There are no words to describe this pain,” she lamented.
Fagan said that last January, authorities had responded to a disturbance call because of a verbal argument between Barrett and his estranged wife.
Detectives were still looking into Barrett’s background but so far hadn’t found any further interaction between the sheriff’s office and the suspect.
