From Eric Dondero:

Bellville (pop. 4,000) is an exurb approximately 50 miles northwest of Houston. It is the county seat for Austin County. The town is in close proximity to the world-renowned Katy Mills Mall, Katy, TX.

A week ago Sunday, Maron Thomas, 20, allegedly murdered 5 of his family members. Details are now just emerging. He reportedly shot them to death. But officials are also confirming that he took a machete and hacked off the head of his two-year old niece. The bodies were discovered by a woman named Anita Hassan. (Source: News Blaze)

From another source, local reporter John Kays with the Student Press, reports:

A final tidbit was picked up last night on CNN Headline with Mike Galanos. I don`t have the exact transcription, so it`s from memory only. Mike interviewed Courtney Zubowski, a reporter CBS affiliate KHOU in Houston. Courtney has the latest scoop on the suspect. One thing that she said is that Maron had to be restrained when the police were taking blood samples. He really tore up the lab.

The other thing is that Maron was acting strangely in the days leading up to the shootings. He was ranting and raving about white people... Exactly what he was saying and who heard him say it, is yet to be determined.

Maron was a recent convert to Islam. There is some speculation on various blogs, though unconfirmed, that he converted while in prison. Though, notably, other sources are reporting that Thomas has no previous criminal history.

From the Houston Chronicle, Jan. 20:

Thomas' sister, Ka'Tara Price, 24, of Houston, said she believes anger and Thomas' conversion to the Muslim religion influenced his actions. She said she is not aware of him suffering from any mental illness.

“It's anger and pure evilness,” Price said Wednesday night.

“This is one of the most horrific crimes we've had in Austin County,” District Attorney Travis Koehn said.

Photo made available through the Austin County Sheriff's Dept. Hat tip to Jawa Report.