On the night of January 11, 2026, a devastating domestic-related shooting unfolded at a residence in the 300 block of East Floyd Street in Slaton, Texas, resulting in three deaths and two critical injuries. Slaton Police Department received a 911 call shortly before 11 p.m. reporting multiple gunshot victims at the home, specifically identified in reports as 335 East Floyd Street.
Emergency responders from Slaton PD, assisted by Lubbock County Sheriff’s deputies, arrived to a chaotic scene where five individuals had been shot, with the incident stemming from a heated confrontation inside the house.
The sequence of events began when 27-year-old George Cantu entered the home armed with a handgun, driven by escalating anger over ongoing marital and child visitation disputes with his common-law ex-wife, 24-year-old Jasmine Rivas.
Cantu first targeted Rivas and 20-year-old Isaiah Chapa, shooting both and inflicting serious wounds that required immediate transport to University Medical Center in Lubbock for emergency treatment. He then turned the weapon on two relatives present in the home, fatally shooting his cousins before ultimately taking his own life, turning the domestic dispute into a tragic murder-suicide.
Alcohol emerged as a contributing factor in the incident, exacerbating the tensions that led Cantu to arm himself and confront those inside the residence. The confrontation unfolded rapidly in the late evening hours, with the gunfire alerting neighbors or occupants who prompted the swift 911 response. Upon arrival, first responders secured the scene, provided aid where possible, and confirmed no ongoing threat to the broader community, as the shooter was among the deceased.
Among the three fatalities were 18-year-old Marisol Ramirez and 23-year-old Araceli Valdez, both identified as cousins of George Cantu, who succumbed to gunshot wounds at the scene. Marisol, a young woman just beginning adulthood, was one of the direct victims of the violence that erupted within the family home, her life cut short in the midst of the familial conflict. The third death was Cantu himself, whose actions classified the event as a double capital murder followed by suicide.
The two survivors, Jasmine Rivas and Isaiah Chapa, sustained critical gunshot injuries and were rushed by EMS to the hospital, where they were initially stabilized but faced prolonged recovery periods. Rivas, as the ex-partner at the center of the dispute, and Chapa, whose exact relationship to the others remains less detailed in reports, endured life-threatening trauma that highlighted the indiscriminate danger of the armed intrusion.
The Lubbock Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit took over the investigation promptly, conducting a thorough examination of the residence, gathering evidence, and interviewing witnesses to reconstruct the precise timeline and dynamics. This tragic event in the small community of Slaton underscored the devastating consequences of unresolved domestic tensions compounded by access to firearms and alcohol, leaving families shattered and prompting reflections on prevention in the aftermath.