Fort Bend, Texas – Christy Sheats, a Texas mother that shot dead her two daughters on Friday evening, was reported to have a history of mental illness, officials stated.
Since January of 2012, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office has responded 14 times to emergency calls coming from the Sheats family home; police told Crimesider. Several calls were for accidental home’s alarm system trips, but on five occasions someone called asking for medical attention, and three times regarding suicide attempts, though officers could not give further details about those calls.
Nevertheless, Caitlin Espinosa, spokeswoman for the county sheriff’s office, told PEOPLE that officers had already been at the Sheats family home “for previous altercations” linked to Christy’s mental crisis.
Christy Sheats, 42, killed her two daughters, Taylor, 22, and Madison, 17, by shooting them with a .38 caliber handgun she kept at home. The altercation happened in the middle of a family meeting she convoked after being in an intense argument with her husband, Jason Sheats. She opened fire inside the home, injuring both girls. They managed to get out of the house, but Taylor collapsed, dying on the street, and Madison was taken to a medical center but did not make it. Christy was shot dead by a police officer after she refused to put down her weapon.
Christy Sheats was an enthusiastic gun advocate, using as an excuse that owning a gun was a way to keep her and her family safe.
Christy wanted to get revenge on her husband
ABC13 talked with Madison Davey, a close family friend who would spend several weekends at the house and share with the whole family. Davey spoke with husband and father Jason Sheats about the events that took place on Friday, which happened to be his birthday.
He told Davey that he was arguing with Christy. She demanded Jason say sorry, and after he had declined, she called for a family meeting. With the two girls now present she took out a gun of a couch in the living room.
According to Davey, Jason told Christy “Just shoot yourself. Make it easy on all of us, just shoot yourself”, a provocation which Christy responded telling him “No, that’s not what this is about, this is about punishing you”. Afterward, she opened fire.
Taylor Sheats felt unsafe at home with a gun
PEOPLE talked with Matthew Wiley, a close friend of Taylor, who stated that days before the shooting, she was not feeling comfortable knowing there was a gun at her home with easy access to her mother.
Wiley was aware of the tense situation at the Sheats’ home because Taylor would talk to him about the constant arguments their parents had, and how her relationship with her mother was only becoming tenser through the years.
He also stated that Taylor was always worrying about Christy’s “outbursts” since they were so unpredictable, but never specified what her mother’s mental illness was, which required medication. Taylor told Wiley that her mother was anxious about her and her sister growing up and moving out of the house. Taylor was supposed to get married on Monday with Juan Sebastian Lugo, her five-year boyfriend.
Source: People