Mom shoots, kills her 2 children before turning gun on herself in Texas hotel, authorities say

HOUSTON -- A woman shot and killed her two young children in a southwest Houston hotel before turning the gun on herself, first responders said on Friday.

According to an update by Houston Police Department Lt. Larry Crowson, the children were just 6 and 9 years old.

Crowson said just before noon, officers responded to a Marriott Residence Inn for a shooting call.

The lieutenant said staff members noticed someone had been in a room since Wednesday and had not been heard from. Once staff members went to check the room, Crowson said they found a 40-year-old woman dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, along with a 6-year-old girl and 9-year-old boy also dead from gunshot wounds.

"Right now, preliminarily, we believe this to be a murder-suicide," Crowson said. "This does appear to involve mental health issues."

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Crowson encouraged people experiencing mental health issues to call 311 or 211 to get help.

"Very tragic incident today - two children unfortunately killed at a very young age," he said.

Crowson said it's unclear when the shooting happened but added that it doesn't appear that it was on Friday.

Officials did not reveal the identity of the woman or her children.

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal, substance use or other mental health crises please call or text the new three digit code at 988. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also goto 988lifeline.org or dial the current tollfree number 800-273-8255 (TALK).