Man’s ‘shooting rampage’ leaves his wife dead, stepchildren injured, Texas officials say
A Texas man was sentenced to prison after officials say he went on a shooting rampage, killing his wife and injuring two of his stepchildren.
Lawrence Reed, 56, of Katy, was convicted of murder and two counts of aggravated assault of a family member and sentenced to life in prison, according to an Oct. 7 news release from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
McClatchy News reached out to Reed’s attorney on Oct. 8 but did not immediately hear back.
‘Shooting Rampage’
On July 29, 2021, Reed shot and killed his wife, Valarie Junius, 36, and shot two of his stepchildren, prosecutors said.
Reed and Junius shared two children together, 4 and 8 years old, and Junius had four children, all between the ages of 12 and 20, who were Reed’s stepkids. Weeks before the shooting, Junius and her children went on a trip to Chicago, the district attorney’s office said.
During the trip, Reed sent Junius “strange messages and mentioned a gun,” prosecutors said.
When the family got back, they found and removed a .40-caliber gun from the house, according to the release.
The day of the shooting, Reed was upstairs and had been texting Junius, asking her to come upstairs and read a letter he wrote her, prosecutors said. However, Junius was downstairs with her children and 1-year-old grandchild, so she told him she didn’t want to come up.
“Finally, he said goodbye to his two children, the 8-year-old and 4-year-old, who were upstairs with him, and came down to confront his wife,” prosecutors said.
Reed went downstairs, spoke to the family briefly, then shot his 20-year-old stepdaughter in the chest, the district attorney’s office said.
Everyone in the home panicked, according to officials. Junius ran out the back door, and several kids ran out the front door. Reed followed Junius out of the house, shooting her as she ran away, prosecutors said.
Reed found Junius and her 16-year-old son hiding near a car, then he shot the teen twice, according to prosecutors.
Reed then shot and killed Junius as the teen held her arm, prosecutors said.
“This man went on a shooting rampage in his own home, shooting three people that he claimed he loved,” District Attorney Kim Ogg said in the release. “An abuser can hurt, maim and kill anyone caught in their path.”
Neighbors came outside, called 911, and tried to help Junius and the kids, the district attorney’s office said.
“One neighbor tried to perform CPR to save Reed’s wife, but Reed came over with the gun, kicked the dead woman in the head and told the neighbor that she was dead. One of her teen sons was also trying to help his mom, and Reed pointed the gun at him and told him to run away or face being shot as well,” prosecutors said.
Reed went back into the house and told authorities if anyone came inside, he would shoot them, the district attorney’s office said.
The 20-year-old stepdaughter was still alive inside, hiding in a closet with her 1-year-old baby, prosecutors said. The bullet hit her heart, both lungs and liver, officials said.
The stepdaughter called 911 and after 49 minutes, officers sneaked her and the baby out of the house. She was taken to a hospital, and emergency surgery was performed on her, prosecutors said.
“He had absolutely murderous intent to kill everyone in that house and would have tried if they hadn’t gotten the other gun out of there—he simply ran out of bullets,” Assistant District Attorney Kelly Marshall said in the release. “This case shows how fatal domestic violence can be—there’s no reason to shoot up a house full of unarmed women and children.”
Reed was eventually arrested. In addition to life in prison, he was sentenced to 20 years for each count of aggravated assault.
Katy is a western suburb of Houston.
This story was originally published October 8, 2024 at 1:39 PM with the headline "Man’s ‘shooting rampage’ leaves his wife dead, stepchildren injured, Texas officials say."
