ITALY, Texas (NewsNation) — Shamaiya Deyonshana Hall, 25, has been charged with three counts of capital murder, according to the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office.
Family members say she was the mother of the kids who were killed, according to a local Dallas news station.
Hall was booked into the Wayne McCollum Detention Center where she’s being held on $2 million bond for each charge,
On Friday afternoon, police found three elementary school-aged children dead inside a Texas home.
A 4-year-old boy and 13-month old girl were also found seriously injured. They were taken to Children’s Hospital Dallas.
Authorities responded at 4 p.m. to a home in the city of Italy, the Dallas Morning News reported. Ellis County Sheriff’s deputy Jerry Cozby said at a press conference that when police arrived, they found three victims dead inside the home, per the Dallas Morning News.
Cozby did not initially release the names of the suspect or victims, according to the New York Times.
Two more victims were taken to hospitals via helicopter with stab wounds, WFAA reported. Child Protective Services confirmed to the news outlet that all five victims were siblings.
“Words cannot express the overwhelming grief felt by the district and the community hearing of such a tragedy,” Italy Independent School District said in a statement. “We are a tight-knit, small community, and as such, many students will be impacted by this incident.”
Counselors were available Saturday morning at a local elementary school and will be there all next week for children needing support. Counseling for family and community members will be available at a church next week as well.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and citizens of Italy,” Ellis County Judge Todd Little said in a statement.
Italy is a community about 40 miles from Dallas with a population of about 2,000.