Friend of Texas mom who killed 2 daughters: 'I thought it was the wrong person'
FULSHEAR, TX -- A silence continues to hang over a neighborhood outside Houston, Texas after a shooting rocked the usually quiet street.
Fort Bend County Sheriff's deputies say Taylor Sheats, 22, and Madison Sheats, 17, were shot and killed by their mother Christy Sheats, 42, on Friday around 5 p.m. A Fulshear police officer shot and killed Christy at the home on Remson Hollow Lane when she refused to drop her weapon. Only the husband and father, Jason Sheats, was not harmed.
An eyewitness saw Taylor, Madison and Jason running out of their home. According to the eyewitness, the young women were already wounded. The neighbor said Taylor collapsed on the street and he saw Christy come outside with a gun and then go back inside to reload. When she emerged again, she shot Madison in the back, according to the eyewitness.
Deputies said a dispute lead up to the shooting.
"All I saw was the police officer aiming his rifle toward someone and saying 'drop your weapons,' and then afterward another gunshot," explained neighbor Sabeeh Siddiqui. "Soon after that there were a lot of police cars that came."
Another neighbor, who said she was close to the family, told abc13 the couple had recently reunited after being separated. She said the shooting happened on Jason's birthday.
Christy had previously posted anti-gun control messages to her Facebook account, including a video captioned "It would be horribly tragic if my ability to protect myself or my family were to be taken away."
Catherine Knowles, a friend of Christy Sheats, is now reacting to the murder mystery.
"This is not the Christy that I know. It's just not," Knowles said. "I thought it was the wrong person. It had to be."
Knowles instantly became close friends with Christy Sheats last summer.
"When you meet her, you know she's a mom within the first minute," she said.
She said Christy always spoke proudly about her two daughters. That's why what happened Friday night is such a shock.
"I couldn't imagine anything in her life that could've made her snap," Knowles said. "Your own children, I don't know what could possibly go through someone's head."
The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office had been called to their home multiple times for Sheats having a "mental crisis" in the past.
Now her friend left wondering if they could have made a difference.
"I wish there was something I could've done," Knowles said.
FRIENDS MOURN DAUGHTERS
Friends of the two young women are struggling to come to terms with the shooting.
Taylor was an artist who loved to draw and was a caregiver, according to her Facebook.
"She was just such a sweet girl. She had tons of friends, me and him both. I just can't believe it happened," said a visibly stunned Matthew Wiley about Taylor.
Madison was set to be a senior at Seven Lakes High School this fall and was a babysitter.
"She seemed like a nice person. I talked to her a few times," neighbor Faaiz Siddiqui said. "Especially Taylor. She babysat us a few times and my brother got tutor lessons from her. All I can say is they are nice people. There's nothing wrong with them."
Madison's close friend, who wanted to stay anonymous, told Eyewitness News that Madison was nice to everyone.
"Madison brought nothing but happiness to everyone she ever met. She was nice to everyone and she wouldn't have harmed a fly," the friend said.
Alick Arnold grew up not far from the Sheats home and said he was a family friend.
"He (Jason) loved his daughters. They were like best friends for sure," he added. "It crushed him. I know it's hard for the family."
