A quiet afternoon in Liberty City, Texas, turned tragic on Monday, Sept. 1, when a teenager and her father were shot and killed in what police describe as a targeted attack by the girl’s boyfriend.
The Gregg County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to Hugh Camp Park, a community space often filled with families, after multiple 911 calls reported gunfire. When they arrived, they discovered 16-year-old Hailey Blake and her father, 49-year-old Shawn Glen Blake, both fatally wounded.
Authorities identified the suspected gunman as 18-year-old Christopher Wayne Hicks Jr., who was in a relationship with the teenage victim. Investigators say Hicks shot the father and daughter before turning the gun on himself. He was transported to a nearby hospital with what officials described as “life-threatening, self-inflicted injuries.”
Officials have not released a possible motive, but the sheriff’s office emphasized that the shooting was not random. “This was a targeted act of violence,” investigators said in a statement.
Two off-duty first responders happened to be at the park when the shooting broke out and immediately attempted life-saving measures, but both victims died before.
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