North Texas man ambushed his 6-year-old daughter, her mother in a parking lot before killing himself, police say

The man who shot and killed two people in a Haltom City parking lot last week was targeting his young daughter and her mother, police said Monday. After shooting the victims, he turned the gun on himself.

Haltom City police identified 30-year-old John Mbuyi as the shooter, and the victims as 33-year-old Raissa Thatukila and their 6-year-old daughter Nathy Mbuyi. 

John Mbuyi got the victims to meet him on the pretense of giving them money, police said, before carrying out the shooting he had "carefully planned in advance" amid an ongoing custody dispute. Evidence showed that Mbuyi "harbored significant grievances" toward Thatukila, police said.

In addition, police said they determined it was a deliberate act of violence as Mbuyi was "experiencing personal distress following the death of his father and expressed concerning thoughts related to death."

Family members of Mbuyi told CBS News Texas they did not want to speak on camera but said he had moved to the United States with his father less than a decade ago. They said they were unaware of any ongoing dispute and described him as a loving father who adored his daughter, making the violence even more shocking to them.  

In the wake of the shooting, Birdville ISD confirmed that one of the victims was a kindergarten student at Cheney Hills Elementary School.

"We are devastated by the loss of one of our students and heartbroken that this tragedy occurred in our community," Principal Cheryl Waddell said in a statement. The district said that crisis counselors would be at the school on Monday and as long as needed to support students and staff.  

The school district says counselors are now being made available to help students, teachers and families cope with the tragedy.