Three young children looking for food led police to the scene of their parents’ murder-suicide inside a Houston home, authorities said.
A man and woman, both 26, were found dead Monday in what police say was likely a murder-suicide at an apartment complex in west Houston, KHOU 11 reported. The couple’s small children — who are ages 3, 2, and 1 — were found sitting outside an apartment complex looking for food, investigators said.
Police were called to the complex just after 5 p.m. by neighbors, who said the children had been sitting outside in the heat for hours. According to weather reports, the temperature in Houston hit a high of 97 degrees.
The children told police that their parents were dead inside their apartment, and authorities found the unnamed couple inside with gunshot wounds.
Lt. Larry Crowson with the Houston Police Department told KHOU it appeared that the man killed the woman before turning the gun on himself.
The names of the couple, who were both 26, have not been publicly shared. Crowson also said it appeared the couple had been dead for about 24 hours.
The three children were uninjured in the incident, police wrote on X.
The children have been placed into the care of their grandmother. Child Protective Services is also involved. Anyone with additional information in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at (713) 308-3600.
