Alrick Barrett: Texas man kills 4 family members, including 8-year-old niece, before shooting himself dead

RICHMOND, TEXAS: Alrick "Shawn" Barrett, a 46-year-old man, carried out a brutal murder-suicide, claiming the lives of four members of his extended family, including his 8-year-old niece during a baby shower celebration.

The incident unfolded at his mother-in-law's home, where the suspect had returned his young child after a visit around 7 am on Saturday, January 13.

Alrick Barrett's attempt to reunite ends in devastating murder-suicide

Barrett, expressing a desire to reunite with his estranged wife, opened fire when she refused, resulting in the deaths of his spouse, her two adult siblings, and the young niece. The 46-year-old ultimately turned the gun on himself.

Deputies responded to the scene on Cory Carnel Lane after a 911 call from Barrett's 13-year-old nephew, who survived the harrowing ordeal by hiding in a closet with a 7-year-old child and their grandmother.

As of Thursday, authorities have not released the names of the victims.

However, a GoFundMe campaign description, reportedly written by the grandmother, Hortense Fullerton, identified the victims as 44-year-old Francia Fullerton, Barrett's wife, along with her 46-year-old son Kacey Fullerton, 43-year-old son Omar Fullerton, and her 8-year-old granddaughter, Aniah.

Alrick Barrett's history as family mourns baby shower turned tragedy

Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan noted that last January, authorities had responded to a disturbance call related to a verbal argument between Barrett and his estranged wife. Detectives are investigating the shooter's background, but no further interactions between the sheriff's office and Barrett have been found so far, as per New York Post.

Hortense disclosed that the family tragedy occurred during a baby shower celebration for her youngest daughter. She expressed profound grief, stating, "I was so excited to have a full house with some of my kids and my grand babies. I could have never expected our day of celebration to turn into a day of unimaginable pain and mourning."

The grandmother mentioned that her daughter Francia is survived by four children, who will now live with her. “There are no words to describe this pain,” Hortense said.