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‘Our Hearts Are Broken,’ Texas Dad Allegedly Murders Teen Daughters Before Killing Himself
Natasha and Alexa Haydel, who authorities say were killed by their father, were both active members of their school's band.
A Texas community is mourning the loss of two teenage girls after their father allegedly shot them to death before turning the gun on himself.
The Mesquite Police Department first responded to reports of a shooting Monday night at a Mesquite residence.
“When officers arrived, they initially located a deceased 63-year-old male with a gunshot wound to his head lying on the floor inside the residence,” police said in a Tuesday statement.
That man has been identified by police as Raymond Haydel, 63.
“Officers continued searching the location and discovered a 17 year-old female and a 16 year-old female also inside the residence, both females were deceased and also appeared to have multiple gunshot wounds,” police wrote. “Upon investigation, it is believed that the male subject shot both female victims and then turned the weapon on himself. It was later determined that the male subject was the father of the two female victims.”
The two victims have been identified by their school district as Natasha, 17, and Alexa Haydel, 16, local outlet KTVT reported. Both were students at Forney High School, where Natasha had just graduated.
"Today, we learned of the tragic loss of two of our Forney High School students, and our hearts are broken," the Forney Independent School District said in a Tuesday statement, obtained by WFAA in Dallas. "We extend condolences to Natasha and Alexa Haydel’s family and to our Forney Family."
Both girls were involved in the school’s band, according to WFAA. Grief counselors have been made available for their classmates.
Wes Hardin is the father of one of the girls' boyfriends. He told KTVT he didn’t know what could have preempted such a violent and tragic act.
“We know what we need to know and sometimes things happen that you don’t want to put a reason on,” he said. “Of course we are angry but we know the girls would want us to celebrate their life.”
Haydel and the victims’ mother were no longer together at the time of the shooting.
