CONROE, Texas – Authorities said a man crashed his truck and opened fire into a home in the Conroe area on Monday, killing two women.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reported that deputies responded to a deadly shooting in the 300 block of Shoreview Drive near Cut and Shoot.
Sheriff Wesley Doolittle said the department received a 911 call around 2 p.m. Monday from an estranged wife, who reported that her husband had crashed his vehicle into the home and was entering it.
Doolittle said the suspect, identified as 57-year-old Stanley Hardin, entered the home and fired multiple shots, striking and killing a 50-year-old woman and an 80-year-old woman. Officials believe the victims were Hardin’s wife and mother-in-law.
After the shooting, officials said the suspect fled to his son’s home and then went to his own residence on Ivy Drive, about 5 miles away, where he later surrendered to law enforcement. Neighbors shared photos of the surrender and the heavy law enforcement response, which included SWAT officers, as they feared further violence.
Doolittle said authorities will charge Hardin with capital murder.
Neighbors said they had seen the wife as recently as last week. The couple has adult children, and Hardin is a disabled veteran. Doolittle noted that the couple had recently become estranged, a situation that can often turn volatile and, at times, deadly.
“When there is high emotion, people are ending relationships and such, I would tell folks to contact the Montgomery County Women’s shelter if they believe they are in danger,” Doolittle said.
The investigation remains ongoing.