Six Killed, Including 4 Children, In Houston-Area Shooting: Police

(Reuters) - At least six people were shot to death, including four children, in the Houston suburb of Spring, Texas, on Wednesday, with the suspected gunmen in a standoff with dozens of police after going on a slow-speed chase through residential neighborhoods.

Houston media reports said the incident resulted from a domestic dispute in a normally quiet area of detached houses with tree-lined streets in Spring, about 25 miles (40 km) north of Houston.

Five were found dead on the scene, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said. A child and an adult who survived were airlifted to an area hospital, with the child later dying and the adult in critical condition, it said.

The suspected gunman led police on a nearly half-hour chase, which resulted in a standoff.

The small sedan was tailed by nearly 20 police vehicles as it drove slowly past strip malls and homes in the area. Smoke billowed from its rear tire, which appeared to have gone flat, video provided by broadcaster KTRK showed. Police cornered the suspect a few miles from where the shootings took place on a cul-de-sac.

"Members of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office High Risk Operations Unit and Hostage Negotiation Team are currently negotiating the surrender of one armed suspect," the sheriff's office said.

Streaming video from KTRK showed a car sandwiched between two trucks on the cul-de-sac where the chase ended, with more than dozen police vehicles nearby.

The Houston Chronicle, citing law enforcement officials, said one woman found at the scene told police the shooting arose from a domestic dispute involving someone who left the family.

Police could not immediately confirm the report.