Gunman kills six of a family in US

Houston, July 10: A gunman shot dead six family members, including four children and two adults, and injured another before surrendering himself to police in the US city of Houston, media reported.

The shooting happened at a home in Spring in north Houston Wednesday afternoon. Police rushed to the home after receiving an emergency call from the victim who survived the shooting and found five people dead at the scene.

Two others, a child and a woman, were airlifted to an area hospital where the younger one died. The only survivor is in critical condition, Xinhua reported citing the Houston Chronicle.

Police chased the suspect and cornered him at a cul-de-sac after they were told by the survivor that the gunman is a family member and was on his way to another place to shoot more relatives,

The suspect, a man in his 30s, initially refused to surrender and got into a standoff with police for several hours. Residents living around the cul-de-sac were evacuated as a precaution.

At one point during the standoff, the suspect was pointing a gun at his head, said local TV ABC13. The police eventually persuaded the suspect to surrender after several tense hours.

Authorities did not release the victims' identities and did not say how they might be related to each other or the suspect.

"It appears this stems from a domestic issue with a breakup in the family, from what our witness told us," said Mark Herman, assistant chief deputy constable of the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office.

Some media also said it was a domestic dispute between the gunman and his estranged wife. No other details are available.

IANS