Houston father shoots dead his four children and two adults after family row before police corner him 'en route to kill grandparents'

 A father shot dead four of his children, a man and a woman who were with them and critically injured his 15-year-old daughter, during an apparent jealous rage Wednesday evening, authorities said.

The teenager was able to call 911 and later warned deputies that her father planned to go to her grandparents' home to kill them, said Deputy Thomas Gilliland of the Harris County Sheriff's Office. 

The suspected gunman eventually surrendered after a three-hour standoff with deputies who had cornered him in a nearby cul-de-sac.

'It appears this stems from a domestic issue with a breakup in the family from what our witness has told us,' Assistant Chief Deputy Constable Mark Herman of the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office told reporters. He did not explain further.

Killed were two boys, ages 4 and 14; two girls, ages 7 and 9; a 39-year-old man; and a 33-year-old woman, said Deputy Thomas Gilliland of the Harris County Sheriff's Office. 

The gunman and his wife are estranged, and she lives out of state, Gilliland said. All of the children were theirs. Two of the dead children were adopted, he said.

Authorities also did not release the identities of the victims or the suspect, nor did they say whether the adults who were killed were related to the children or their father.

Culled from daily mail uk