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Texas Mom Who Killed Her Kids Was Separated From Husband, Former Employer Says

'She was separated and she lived in an apartment, and her husband and daughters lived in the home that they all lived in where the incident happened.'
Investigators with Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office said Christy Sheats (left), shot and killed her daughters, Taylor Sheats (center), and Madison Sheats (right).
Investigators with Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office said Christy Sheats (left), shot and killed her daughters, Taylor Sheats (center), and Madison Sheats (right).via Facebook

The Texas mom who fatally shot her two daughters on her husband's birthday was having trouble at home and was fired from a job more than a year ago, a former employer told NBC News.

Christy Sheats, 42, called a "family meeting" in the living room of her Katy, Texas, home last Friday afternoon and then shot 22-year-old Taylor and 17-year-old Madison Sheats, authorities said. Her husband, Jason Sheats, was not injured. Officers shot and killed Sheats when they arrived on-scene.

Related: Texas Mom Who Killed Her Kids Called 'Family Meeting'

A LinkedIn page for Sheats lists her current profession as business manager of Clean Canvas Laser, a tattoo removal shop in Houston. It says she started in January 2014.

Investigators with Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office said Christy Sheats, 42, shot and killed her daughters, Taylor Sheats, 22, and Madison Sheats, 17.
Investigators with Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office said Christy Sheats, 42, shot and killed her daughters, Taylor Sheats, 22, and Madison Sheats, 17.via Facebook

But John Hollis, the owner of Clean Canvas Laser, told NBC News Sheats only worked for him from January 2015 to May 2015, and was a part-time receptionist.

He said she was separated from her husband at the time.

"She was separated and she lived in an apartment, and her husband and daughters lived in the home that they all lived in where the incident happened," he said.

Hollis said he fired Sheats due to "irregular attendance and things just not adding up. She didn't steal from me or anything, she just seemed to get her facts mixed up."

He added that since then, he had repeatedly requested Sheats remove his company from her LinkedIn page as her current employer, but that she never did.

Madison Sheats
Madison Sheatsvia Facebook

Police arrived at the Sheats' home to find the girls lying in the street, bleeding, and Sheats with a gun in her hand. The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office said officers demanded she drop her handgun, and when she refused, an officer fired one shot at her, killing her.

Police do not know what the motive for the shooting was. Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Caitilin Espinosa told NBC News that Jason Sheats is cooperating with the investigation.

The sheriff's office was called to the Sheats home 14 times, beginning in January 2012. Some of the calls were for alarm issues. Police said they have been forbidden from elaborating on the other calls due to legal constraints issued by the county attorney.

Taylor Sheats
Taylor Sheatsvia Facebook

Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy E. Nehls called the situation "a terrible incident" in a Facebook post a day after the shootings.

"As everyone is certainly aware, we had a terrible incident last night that involved the deaths of 3 people. An unimaginable tragedy that it seems we see too often," Nehls wrote. "Keep the family in your prayers."