Gunman Kills Three Teenage Girls in Home

Authorities say three teenage girls, including one who was pregnant, were fatally shot by man who also sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl who later escaped. The gunman later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said. No names have been released. The killings occurred at the home of the gunman's girlfriend in the Houston suburb of Galena Park at about 10:30pm Saturday. The girls who were killed were 19, 14 and 13, said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. The 38-year-old man next attacked the 12-year-old, then told her to run out of the house, Gonzalez said. She grabbed a 1-year-old baby girl and fled.

"She ran out of the residence without any clothing" to the home of a neighbor, who called Galena Park police, he said. "When she ran out she managed to think about it, thankfully, and was able to grab the 1-year-old and ran away." Both girls were hospitalized for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening, according to a statement from Galena Park police. Gonzalez said the man's girlfriend was the mother of the 12-year-old and the 19-year-old. The older victim was the mother of the baby and was pregnant. The sheriff said the girlfriend was not at home at the time of the shootings. Gonzalez offered no suspected motive for the shooting, saying it "makes no sense, it's all tragic."

(More fatal shooting stories.)