The target of an alleged murder plot is recovering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen after his daughter allegedly shot him and then herself in an attempted patricide that she had reportedly been planning for weeks.
The incident occurred Tuesday evening around 11:30 p.m. at a residence in Weatherford, according to the Parker County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they located a girl, 12, lying in the street with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head.
The father, 38, was located inside the family’s residence with a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
Both the father and daughter were transported to local hospitals by air ambulance. Neither of the victims’ names was released because the suspect is a juvenile, so her identity is being protected.
Authorities learned the 12-year-old had allegedly concocted the plan with a young girl from Lufkin; they both allegedly planned to kill their own fathers.
Furthermore, the sheriff’s office said it learned the suspect had planned for several weeks to murder her family and pets. The young girl in Lufkin did not go through with the alleged plot to kill her father.
Deputies also learned that the pair had planned for the young girl from Weatherford to drive to Lufkin, pick up the second young suspect and run away together to Georgia.
The Lufkin Police Department is also investigating the incident. They have charged the young girl in their jurisdiction with criminal conspiracy.
“This case illustrates how important it is for parents to know who their children are friends with,” said Jessica Pebsworth, communications director of Lufkin. This includes their friends “in the classroom” and on social media, “like Tik Tok and Snapchat, and even gaming platforms.”
The attempted murder case will be handled by the juvenile justice system.
The Dallas Express reached out to both the Parker County Sheriff’s Office and the Lufkin police for comment, but no comment was immediately available from either law enforcement agency.