On July 9, 2014, a mass shooting occurred in a home located in northern Harris County, Texas, near the Spring census-designated place, a suburban area of the Greater Houston area, leaving six family members dead, four children, and a lone survivor.

[5] Police and court documents state that Haskell arrived at the residence, 711 Leaflet Lane,[6] dressed as a FedEx employee.

The door was answered by the mother's 15-year-old daughter, who initially did not recognize him; he asked for her parents and she told him they weren't home.

The lone survivor, the 15-year-old girl, Cassidy, who initially answered the door, was able to identify the suspect, telling responding police that the gunman was planning on going after other family members.

[5][20][21] Using Cassidy's information, police confronted the suspect at a second home;[22] a chase ensued for twenty minutes,[23] involving about two dozen patrol cars and eventually ending at a cul-de-sac located about three miles from the scene of the shooting, shortly before 7:00 p.m.

[21][27][28] The family arrived in the Houston area in 2012 after living in California, and the husband operated a real estate business.

[7] The sole survivor was 15-year-old Cassidy Stay,[7] a student at Klein Collins High School,[31] who was able to phone police and inform them that Haskell was planning to attack her grandparents next.

[12][44] Previously, the Stays were familiar with the Haskells, since both families belonged to a tight-knit church community in southern California.

[14] Haskell had previously faced domestic assault charges and had a protective order put against him by his wife before they divorced.

[34][47] On July 2, 2014, over a week prior to the shooting, Haskell's mother, Karla Jeanne Haskell, told San Marcos police that she wanted a restraining order against her son after having "a ferocious argument" with him, during which he reportedly forced her into the garage, tied her wrists with duct tape, taped her to a computer chair for almost four hours, and threatened to kill her and his entire family.

[38][44] On the morning of July 10, 2014, Haskell was charged with six counts of capital murder, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

[55] On September 26 of that year, Haskell was found guilty of capital murder and was sentenced to death by lethal injection on October 11.