Girl Who Survived Texas Family Shooting By Playing Dead Is ‘Hero,’ Prevented More Deaths


A Texas teen is being hailed a hero after she survived a tragic massacre that claimed the lives of her parents and four siblings. Cassidy Stay, 15, acted completely selflessly when she was shot, but survived the horrific shooting at her family home by first thinking of her surviving relatives when alerting 911.

According to CBS News, Cassidy was at her family home in Spring, Texas, when her former uncle, Ronald Lee Haskell, came to the door posing as a Fedex worker. Haskell made his way into the home where the family of seven lived. Haskell made the five children lay face down on the floor along with their two parents, Stephen and Katie Stay. Haskell demanded to know where his former wife, Katie Stay’s sister, was located. The family members told him they did not know, at which point Haskell shot all seven members of the Stay family in the back of the head, execution-style.

Cassidy was grazed by the bullet, but pretended to be dead. When Haskell left the seven for dead, Cassidy called 911 for help. However, the teen didn’t just call for medical attention for herself, Cassidy called to warn the police that Haskell was coming for her grandparents next. This brave act by Cassidy very well could have saved her grandparents life. The police were able to intercept Haskell before he made it to Katie Stay’s father’s home. Lyon said:

“We are in awe of her bravery and courage in calling 911, an act that is likely to have saved all of our lives. She is our hero.”

ABC News reports that police cornered Haskell on a dead end street after receiving Cassidy’s 911 call. The standoff ended after police used armored vehicles to ram the front and back of his vehicle to prevent him from driving away. After 3.5 hours, Haskell got out of his car, knelt down and surrendered, police said.

Though the ordeal left Cassidy injured, Lyon told reporters that she is expected to make a full recovery, though she will ultimately have to deal with the mental anguish of losing her entire family in such a horrific instance of violence at the hands of someone she knew. Cassidy was the only member of the Stay family to survive the Texas family shooting. Her two sisters, ages 7 and 9, two brothers, ages 4 and 13, as well as both her parents perished in the terrible ordeal.

Lyon is still struggling with the loss of his daughter and grandchildren but says “we love them beyond words.”

“They [the Stays] lived to help others, both at church and in their neighborhood. We love them beyond words. We are shocked and devastated by this tragedy that has taken these precious souls away from us.”

Haskell was seen in court today to go over the charges presented against him. In court, Haskell collapsed a number of times with his attorney claiming he is mentally ill.

[Image Credit: ABC News]

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