Eight dead, including suspect, at suburban home
Seven people were fatally shot during a gathering at a suburban Dallas home before police fatally shot the suspect, police say.
Debbie Lane told WFAA television station that her daughter, Meredith Lane, was among those killed in the shooting Sunday night. She said her daughter owned the home and had recently divorced her husband of six years. She said her daughter, a native of Georgia, was hosting a party to watch football games, starting with the Atlanta Falcons versus the Chicago Bears and continuing with the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants.
“She was a cook, and a quite fine one, and she loved hosting friends and families,” Debbie Lane said.
Police have not yet confirmed
the identities of the victims and suspect. All of those killed and injured were believed to be adults.
Plano police spokesman David Tilley said police initially responded to a report of shots fired at about 8 p.m. on Sunday. When the first officer arrived and went inside the home, the officer confronted the suspected shooter and opened fire, killing the suspect.
“The first responding officer actually heard gunshots taking place inside the residence,” Tilley said.
Officers then found nine gunshot victims — seven who were dead and two injured. The two injured were taken to the hospital.
Neighbour Stacey Glover told The Dallas Morning News that the party had started early in the afternoon and that she had seen people laughing and grilling outside. She says she then heard the shots around 8 p.m. She opened her door and smelled gunpowder.
She heard police who arrived yell “hands up” before more shots rang out.
Police have not determined a motive for the shooting.