KATY, Texas — A gunman shot four people before taking his own life at a house warming party near Katy, the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office said.
Investigator said it appeared the gunman, identified by FBCSO as John Wright, shot and killed his sister, Julianna Carr, before shooting himself. The suspect was taken to the hospital where he also died.
According to neighbors, they saw several people in the backyard earlier in the night, and it appeared they were having a good time.
"They were screeching and laughing away, much noise, much noise," a neighbor said.
Around 11 p.m., the sounds of gunshots and people screaming were heard.
When deputies arrived, they found three people were wounded by Wright who died from a self-inflicted gunshot.
"I have the suspect here. I have an eye on him. Gun in his hand. Two other guns. We have four people shot," Sheriff Troy Nehls said.
Carr just moved into the house on July 1. Both Wright and Carr were former residents of Corpus Christi.
"So this is our yearbook, Ray Texans class of 80, Julianna was in class with us," friend Matt Adler said.
Adler attended ray high school with both Carr and Wright. Carr was in the same graduating class of 1989 with Adler.
"We all hung out we had a good time. It was a good group. They were great people. John was a great friend of ours. He hung out with us all the time," Adler said.
According to Adler, he never really lost connection with many of his classmates, so when they'd run into each other, it was as though no time had passed.
"Our 30th Ray class of 89 reunions is coming up, and we're gonna miss the two," Adler said. "Juliann was a good friend, and it sent shock waves all through all of our class and our reunion prep and everything we've been doing. They were good people, and I'm just sorry for what happened."
According to police reports, during the shooting, a teenage girl locked herself in the bathroom. A second adolescent girl and woman who ran from the house were not hurt.
Police said the three people who were shot and survived were friends.
Deputies said one woman was shot in the face, another woman was shot in the chest and the man was shot in the hand. All three were taken to the hospital and are expected to recover fully.