HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — The man who killed his estranged wife and wounded his daughter outside a Cypress church later shot and killed himself in a hotel room, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office confirms.
Deputies used a robot to go into the room and found the suspect’s body inside the bathroom early Friday morning.
Earlier in the morning a SWAT team was called to the W. Sam Houston Tollway hotel during an overnight search for the suspect, identified as 62-year-old Arthur Edigin.
It was Thursday night when Edigin allegedly shot five to six times into a vehicle his wife and daughter were in outside the Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church.
Deputies said Edigin's 67-year-old estranged wife was killed and his 32-year-old daughter was in critical condition. Officials believe the shooting stemmed from a domestic dispute.
Deputies confirmed Friday the suspect's 17-month-old granddaughter was also in the car at the time of Thursday's shooting. She was not injured during the incident.
As for the man's daughter, she remains in critical condition, but surgeons say she is expected to survive.
Late Thursday, The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston released the following statement on the shooting:
“Our prayers are with the victims and families affected by the tragic shooting this evening at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church. Officials with the Archdiocese and the parish community are cooperating with local authorities in their investigation.”
Despite the tragedy, the church says it still plans on having its regular Friday mass.
It's frightening to know that cases like these are not rare.
The most recent statistics from the Texas Council on Domestic Violence show Harris County leads the state in the number of women murdered by the male partners.
In most cases, the victims are in current relationships with their killers.
The husband or boyfriend kills the woman with a gun in the vast majority of the cases.
The murder occurs in the victim's home in nearly 70-percent of the cases.
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