Man repeatedly fired shots at his mother, killing her in their Azle home, sheriff says
A 37-year-old Azle man repeatedly shot his mother, killing her, at their Azle home Tuesday evening before he was arrested in Palo Pinto County, authorities said Wednesday.
Investigators are seeking a motive for the fatal shooting.
Killed in her Azle home was 64-year-old Rebecca Caffey Russell, according to officials with the Parker County Sheriff’s Office.
Shortly after the shooting, deputies with the Palo Pinto County Sheriff’s Office arrested 37-year-old Matthew Ray Russell on a charge of public intoxication. A Parker County arrest warrant charges Russell with murder. He remained in the Palo Pinto County Jail on Wednesday morning without a bond.
Parker County deputies responded to a call of a person with a weapon shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday in the 100 block of Cedar Creek Drive in Azle.
A man called 911 and reported he was in his room when he heard several shots and a woman screaming. He searched the home and found a relative bleeding and lying on a kitchen floor. She told the caller that she had been shot.
Parker County authorities did not comment on the relationship between the 911 caller and the victim.
Within seconds, the caller told deputies he saw Matthew Ray Russell pointing a rifle at him. The caller fled the home as he heard additional shots fired.
Deputies arrived and found Rebecca Russell dead at the scene, and Matthew Russell gone from the home.
Deputies along with Texas Department of Public Safety troopers searched the area for the gunman.
Matthew Russell was later found in Palo Pinto County, authorities said.
This story was originally published September 29, 2021 at 1:34 PM.
