5 Kids, 3 Adults Found Dead In Houston-Area Home

Texas authorities say five children and three adults have been found dead inside a Houston-area home following the arrest of a man who exchanged gunfire with police.

All eight victims -- five children and three adults --  found in a Houston-area home were shot in the head, according to an arrest affidavit for a man charged with capital murder.

The arrest affidavit was read in court Sunday afternoon at a probable cause hearing for 49-year-old David Conley. He didn't appear in court. The judge denied him bond.

According to the arrest affidavit, Conley said he had discovered on Saturday morning that the locks had been changed at the house after he'd moved out. He then entered the home through an unlocked window and restrained, shot and killed the eight people.

Police later responded to a welfare check at the house and got no response at the door but saw through a window a male on the floor with a gunshot wound. Police then heard gunshots coming from the front of the house. A standoff ensued between officials and Conley and he later gave himself up to authorities and was arrested.

Harris County Sheriff spokesman Thomas Gilliland told CBS affiliate KHOU-TV that deputies were called to a home in the 2200 block of Falling Oaks Road about 9 p.m. Saturday for a routine welfare check. He said after no one answered the door, deputies subsequently received information indicating that a man inside the home was wanted on an aggravated assault warrant.

Gilliland said while waiting for a High Risk Operations Unit, deputies spotted the body of a juvenile through a window. Four deputies forced themselves inside, prompting the Conley to begin shooting.

Deputies pulled back, and Conley surrendered about an hour later.

The Houston sheriff's spokesman said the unusual and grisly nature of the crime has led to concern about the well being of the department's deputies.

"It's a hard job being a patrolman in this town, and our deputies do a yeoman's job every day, but when they're forced to see some of the most horrific things along this nature, especially of children, and someone so callous could do something like this to children - we have our family assistance coming out to talk to our deputies and help them decompress," said Gilliland.

Alan Cartagena, 19, said he was attending a barbecue at a home a couple houses away. About 11 p.m., he said, deputies started going around the neighborhood knocking on doors.

"Cops were walking around with their handguns out, telling people to remain in their houses. They were also telling them to evacuate. It was extremely scary," he said. Cartagena said he heard one gunshot but wasn't sure if there were more.

Neighbor Dalila Mercado says when she arrived home Saturday night officers had already blocked off the area. She said she was sitting in her driveway when she heard gunshots coming from the house and officials then told her and her family to go inside their home. Mercado said she could still see from her bedroom window and watched as a man was escorted out of the house after midnight. She said officials then had him next to her fence, taking fingerprints and photographs.

"It was shocking. I haven't slept all night," she said. Mercado says she didn't know the residents of the house well, but would occasionally say hello to a woman and see children waiting to catch the school bus. She said she didn't recognize the man taken out of the house.