Texas Rangers are investigating a Saturday morning shooting in Hale County that left five people dead, including the suspected shooter.
Meanwhile, an online fundraiser for the family of one of the victims indicated the shooting came as an argument erupted at a family gathering in the community of Seth Ward just north of Plainview.
Hale County Sheriff’s officials called on the Rangers to help with a death investigation Saturday in the Seth Ward neighborhood, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety news release.
Deputies responding to a home about 3:40 a.m. Saturday in the 2700 block of Upchurch found five people suffering from gunshot wounds, the release states.
Hector Alonso Sanchez, 28, Tanya Paola Valadez Rangel, 30, Rosalba Saenz Rodriguez, 47, died at the scene. Saul Villa, 33, who was identified as the assailant, was also found dead at the scene, the release states.
Reily Joseph Zavala Barrientos, 21, was taken to Covenant Hospital-Plainview where he died, the release states.
Other information about the circumstances of the killings was not immediately clear.
The Texas Rangers investigation is ongoing, however, officials believe there is not threat to the public, the release states.
Go Fund Me fundraiser offers new details about deadly Hale County shooting
An online fundraiser through Go Fund Me indicated the shooting came during a family gathering at the home.
The fundraiser, specifically for the family of Barrientos on gofundme.com, described him as a quiet, sweet, loving, and kind-hearted young man who was attending a co-worker’s family gathering when the shooting erupted.
The post states Barrientos was not involved in what prompted the shooting and was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” when he was struck by a bullet.
Barrientos, who is from the Mexican city of Torreón, arrived in the United States about a year ago to help support his family.
“His passing has left our family devastated and with a void that cannot be filled,” reads a statement on the fundraiser page.
The fundraiser aims to raise money to pay for his funeral and to return his body to his hometown.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Officials ID 5 killed, Texas Rangers investigate Hale County shooting
Reporting by Gabriel Monte, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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