Death toll climbs to 9 in rampage outside Dallas

PLANO, Texas — A ninth person died Monday, a day after a man opened fire at a suburban Dallas home during a gathering to watch football, police said.

An officer responding to a report of shots fired about 8 p.m. Sunday confronted the suspected shooter and opened fire, killing the suspect. Police then found nine gunshot victims — seven were dead and two were taken to the hospital.

Plano police Chief Gregory Rushin said at a news conference Monday that one of the two people hospitalized after the shooting had died.

“The first responding officer actually heard gunshots taking place inside the residence,” police spokesman David Tilley said.

Rushin said the officer approached the house from the back and saw bodies in the backyard before confronting the suspect inside.

Police have not yet released the identities of those killed or the shooter. Rushin did say that the suspect “was known by people in the residence,” adding the suspect had a “relationship with that house.”

Debbie Lane told WFAA television that her daughter, Meredith Lane, was among those killed in the shooting. 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 against the Chicago Bears and continuing with the Dallas Cowboys playing the New York Giants.

“She was a cook, and a quite fine one, and she loved hosting friends and families,” Debbie Lane said.

All of those killed and injured were believed to be adults.

Neighbor 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 about 8 p.m. She opened her door and smelled gunpowder. She heard police who arrived yell “hands up” before more shots rang out.

Rushin said he did not know how many people had attended the gathering. Rushin said multiple firearms of different types were found at the scene.