Teacher and her sons killed in apparent murder-suicide by father in Fort Bend County

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Tuesday, March 10, 2020
2 adults, 2 teens dead in apparent murder-suicide
Police say 48-year-old Ryan Brown shot and killed his entire family including their two dogs Sunday morning, then turned the gun on himself.

FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Four people are dead after deputies say a family's 48-year-old father shot and killed them all in an apparent murder-suicide Sunday morning.

Fort Bend County Sheriff's office responded to reports of a shooting in the 9200 block of Sebastian Drive around 5 a.m.

Deputies said they found Ryan Brown, 48, his wife Lynnette Brown, 49, and their two sons Sam Brown, 16, and Hayes Brown, 13, dead inside of the home. The family's two dogs were also shot to death.

The wife and her two children were all a part of Lamar CISD. Lynnette was a teacher at Ray Elementary, Hayes was an eighth grader at Briscoe Junior High, and Sam was a junior at Foster High School.

Sam was a member of Foster High School's varsity baseball team, making his debut just before his death.

Texas Prep Baseball, a publication observing the sport at the high school level, plans to honor Sam.

Deputies say it's unclear what pushed Ryan to commit the crime.

"It's unfortunate, we've been to these before. Let's just say if you are suicidal, if you are not feeling well about things and you are having an argument with your family. Just get some help, you don't have to harm your family. In this case, we have an entire family that is gone. That's a sad day. That's a sad day," Sheriff Troy Nehls said.

Neighbors told ABC13 they were totally shocked.

"Totally shocked. I mean, you never know what's going on in people's house until something happens, I guess. Based on what I knew they were OK people. They moved in about a year after I did. I've been here 10 years. They were decent people," neighbor James Tudmon said. "I talked to them, spoke to them. They walked their dogs. Their sons came down here and played with my grandson. I would see the older kid and his father throwing a baseball out in the street. They were the typical family, you know?"