--- description: The police officer who shot a mother who had just killed her two daughters is struggling in the aftermath of the incident, his boss says. title: Officer Struggling to Cope After Killing Mom Who Shot Her Daughters image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15794bedc8135b74/6988997b5f570f5ab6b217cd/ap_88406287417.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Officer Struggling to Cope After Killing Mom Who Shot Her Daughters: 'It Absolutely Takes a Toll on You' by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 29, 2016 2:28 PM CUT  Neighbors gather to watch as Fort Bend County Sheriffs department investigates a shooting in Katy, Texas on June 24, 2016. Neighbors gather to watch as Fort Bend County Sheriffs department investigates a shooting in Katy, Texas on June 24, 2016.Karen Warren—AP by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 29, 2016 2:28 PM CUT The [police officer](http://www.people.com/article/christy-sheats-texas-mom-shooting-fulshear-officer "undefined") who shot a [mother](http://time.com/4384861/christy-sheats-texas-mom-daughters-family-meeting/ "undefined") who had just killed her two daughters is struggling in the aftermath of the incident, his boss says. Chief of Police Kenny Seymour tells PEOPLE that the unnamed officer is “actually doing very well” considering the circumstances, but that like anyone else who discharges their weapon in the line of duty, he is struggling to cope with the shooting. “I don’t care how tough you are, when you take somebody’s life, it absolutely takes a toll on you,” Seymour said. [Christy Sheats](http://time.com/4386252/texas-mom-christy-sheats-taylor-madison-sheats/ "undefined") shot her two daughters to death on Friday, and was subsequently taken down herself by the police officer. The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s office and the Texas Rangers will investigate the incident and present findings to a grand jury, which will decide if the officer acted appropriately. Per protocol, the officer will remain on leave until that decision. Local authorities believe the officer’s actions were “totally justified.” \[[PEOPLE](http://www.people.com/article/christy-sheats-texas-mom-shooting-fulshear-officer "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4387108/christy-sheats-officer-who-killed-mom-daughters-shooting-struggling/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4387108/christy-sheats-officer-who-killed-mom-daughters-shooting-struggling/"},"headline":"Officer Struggling to Cope After Killing Mom Who Shot Her Daughters: 'It Absolutely Takes a Toll on You'","datePublished":"2016-06-29T14:28:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:55:50.002Z","description":"\"I don't care how tough you are, when you take somebody's life, it absolutely takes a toll on you\"","url":"https://time.com/4387108/christy-sheats-officer-who-killed-mom-daughters-shooting-struggling/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15794bedc8135b74/6988997b5f570f5ab6b217cd/ap_88406287417.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt15794bedc8135b74/6988997b5f570f5ab6b217cd/ap_88406287417.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mother Shoots Daughters","caption":"Mother Shoots Daughters","creditText":"Karen Warren—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4387108/christy-sheats-officer-who-killed-mom-daughters-shooting-struggling/","name":"Officer Struggling to Cope After Killing Mom Who Shot Her Daughters: 'It Absolutely Takes a Toll on You'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Texas Mother Who Killed Daughters Had History of Mental Illness","description":"The Texas mother who was shot dead by police after killing her two daughters had a history of mentall illness according to new reports.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/IyrwhxAa/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-06-27T17:13:17.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IyrwhxAa.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4387108/christy-sheats-officer-who-killed-mom-daughters-shooting-struggling/","duration":"PT53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4387108/christy-sheats-officer-who-killed-mom-daughters-shooting-struggling/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```