'Don't do this, they're our kids': Father watches in horror as wife shoots daughters on his birthday
The husband of a US woman begged his wife to stop, as she fatally shot their two daughters on his birthday.
Christy Sheats, 42, was found armed outside her Texas home, near the bodies of her daughters Madison, 17, and Taylor, 22.
It's believed the girls fled from their mother when she began firing her gun inside their Fort Bend County home following an alleged family dispute.
The girls' father Jason Sheats, 45, reportedly watched on in horror as his wife shot their children, before police shot and killed her.
Neighbour Fazz Zainuddin claimed to local media that a police officer overheard the father say, "Don't do this. They're our kids."
Mr Sheats wasn't injured, but he was distressed and taken to hospital.
Local media reported the mother allegedly had a history of mental illness and was a Houston gun advocate.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Caitilin Espinosa, told People officers had been to Christy Sheats' home "for previous altercations".
Police officers responded to a 911 call and arrived at the Sheats' home at about 5pm Friday (local time).
On arrival they reportedly found the mother standing near the bodies of her two daughters on the street.
Taylor, had been shot three times, once inside the home and twice outside. Madison was shot once outside.
The mother was shot and killed by a Fulshear city police officer, after she refused to drop her weapon, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff Troy Nehls said it was "a family argument that turned into a shooting" and authorities were trying to "put the pieces together".
Sheriff Nehls said police had been called to the family’s home in the past, but “as to why we were called here, I don’t know.”
Another witness claims to have seen Mr Sheats and his daughters running out of their home, ABC13 reports.
A neighbour who said he had attended school with one of the daughters said the neighborhood has never seen anything like it before.
"It's crazy. It's always quiet. This is surprising," Austin Enke said.
"They never showed any kind of thing that was wrong with them whatsoever."
Ms Sheats posted multiple times on Facebook in the months leading to the shooting, about her distaste for gun control.
"It would be horribly tragic if my ability to protect myself or my family were to be taken away, but that's exactly what Democrats are determined to do by banning semi-automatic handguns," she wrote on a post in March.
In another post she uploaded an image of the gun alongside these words: "I have 10 guns. Obama wants 8 of my guns. How many guns do I have? That's right I have 10."
In September last year, Ms Sheats posted a photo of her and her daughters to Facebook saying: "Happy Daughter's Day to my two amazing, sweet, kind, beautiful, intelligent girls. I love and treasure you both more than you could ever possibly know."
