Texas Nursing Home Shooting That Left 5 Dead Was Likely Murder-Suicide, Police Say

A 60-year-old man fatally shot his father and stepmother in a nursing home in Texas on Friday after killing two other people at the couple’s residence nearby, officials said.

The gunman, Richard Starry, was found dead inside a room at the Retama Manor Nursing Center in Robstown, alongside his 85-year-old father and stepmother, Chief Erasmo Flores of the Robstown Police Department said at a news conference Saturday.

He identified the victims in the nursing home as Ernest Starry and his wife, Thelma Montalvo.

The police responded to a call about an “active shooter” shortly before 7 p.m. at the nursing home. They found three bodies in a room, with a handgun near Richard Starry, Lt. Enrique Paredez said.

“At this time the evidence points to a murder-suicide,” he said. “But the investigation is still premature to determine a motive.”

Ernest Starry was a resident at the nursing home, and Montalvo was there visiting her husband, Paredez said.

After the emergency call from the nursing home, the police were alerted to two other deaths at the couple’s residence just down the road.

The police found the bodies of the couple’s 13-year-old adoptive son and Montalvo’s 41-year-old son, Paredez said. Officials did not release their names.

Officials believe the two victims at the residence were killed before those at the nursing home.

“It’s been a long night and into this morning,” Flores said. “We’re doing the best we can with this horrible incident.”

Robstown, which is about 20 miles west of Corpus Christi, is a city of about 11,500 people. The nursing home is a for-profit senior care community, with about 94 beds, according to police.

“Everyone in the community and surrounding area is heartbroken,” Mayor Amanda Barrera said at the news conference. “This is going to be something that is going to take a long time for our community to heal from.”