A Texas woman who for months was unable to qualify for food stamps, pulled out a gun in a state welfare office and staged a seven-hour standoff with police that ended with her shooting her two children before killing herself, officials said.
The children, a 10-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, remain in critical condition and had just moved to the Texas area with their mother Rachelle Grimmer in July.
Grimmer first applied for food stamps in July but was denied because she didn’t turn in enough information, Texas Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman said.
Goodman didn’t know what Grimmer specifically failed to provide. In addition to completing an 18-page application, families seeking state benefits also must provide documents proving their information, such as proof of employment and residency.
Goodman said Grimmer’s last contact with the agency appeared to be a phone call in mid-November. When the family entered the Laredo office on Monday shortly before 5 p.m., Goodman said Grimmer asked to speak to a new case worker, and not the one whom she worked with previously.
Shortly thereafter, Goodman said, Grimmer was taken to a private room to discuss her case. She said it was there the mother revealed a gun and the standoff began.
Goodman said it’s not unusual for caseworkers to confront angry or confused benefit-seekers, but that it’s very rare for a situation to escalate to violence.
Conversations Of A Sistah 
well dayum guess times real tight.
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well dayum guess times real tight.
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prbly didn’t wanna see them starve to death.
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well dayum guess times real tight.
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Um Yeah
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This is one of the saddest stories, a mother turning on her own children and shooting them before she shoots herself. Yes, the economic situation right now is awful for some, but this is more so a story of one person’s selfishness. Smdh
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Why can’t a person in America go into a welfare office and get HELP without all the “Correct Paperwork”. Why have the conservatives in Congress made it so difficult for poor people to survive? wow
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sad 😦
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Where is the father? Dayum!!!!!!
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oh God this is sad.
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How unbelievably tragic and sad…I can totally relate to her quiet desperation…but to feel no way out but to kill your children, then herself? I am weeping for those children..I pray God blesses them.
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How unbelievably tragic and sad…I can totally relate to her quiet desperation…but to feel no way out but to kill your children, then herself? I am weeping for those children..I pray God blesses them.
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it doesn’t say the kids are dead just the mom. she just shot them.
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I’m not condoning her shooting her children by no means BUT do we know the reason she and the children moved from Ohio to Texas? Do we know the reason she carried a gun? could it be she was fleeing from an abusive relationship? We probably will never know. Its very sad that these 2 kids now do not have a mother however, she must’ve been very depressed and/or mentally unstable. I dont know how any parent could look into their childs eyes then shoots them.
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sad 😦 story
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How bad does it have to get. This woman couldn’t feed her kid’s and was still denied food stamps? WTF!!!
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This poor woman must have been under a lot of stress. I Do feel for her. Just to bad she had to injure these inocent children. Where was the father? I do hope they are okay.
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This is a story where no one wins. I am sure the bureau employees didn’t mean for this woman to die or go out of their way to hurt her. I am so sorry for the children to have experienced such pain at the hands of their mother. and how much pain do you have to be in to shoot your children?
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I am so sorry for the children to have experienced such pain at the hands of their mother. and how much pain do you have to be in to shoot your children?
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Lawd have mercy Dana, pray you’ll never know
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Jesus have mercy Lord.. Just eveidence that people are hurting and see no other way out.
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This is very sad! What is America coming too! Not everybody want to be on welfare, but just want a hand up! AMERICA WHERE IS THE COMPASSION!
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Either way, what she did was not a very good way to help her children out.
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Oh this is sad 😦 ….she was vulnerable
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What a tragedy. . . sadly, Texas won’t even care. In 2010, Texas had the poorest performing food stamp program in all 50 states and failed to meet federal requirements. It was the slowest in processing eligible claims. had insufficient staff to process food stamp applications, time consuming and complicated asset confirmation procedures, and is one of only three states that fingerprints applicants. Texas got $4 billion dollars in food assistance and only enrolled a little more than half of those eligible.
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An 18 page food stamp application?? WTF!!!! only in Texas !!!
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Aw HELL NO!!!
She shot the damn kids? This bitch was beyond irrational, hail she was mentally challenged.
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This bitch was beyond irrational, hail she was mentally challenged. -> and hungry!
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This bitch was beyond irrational, hail she was mentally challenged. -> and hungry!
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Not funny ya raggedy bitch!!!! She in turn shot her kids..have some RESPECT and sympathy as you voice your opinion on this blog!
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What does Governor Perry have to say about this?? Or doesn’t he care that it happened in his state – It doesn’t get much worse than being unable to feed your children and find that no one seems to care at the Office which is supposed to care.
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This is the act of a truly desperate woman–a woman who couldn’t see how she was going to take care of her kids. This is what happens when people become desperate and reach the end of their rope. We should be better than this.
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CHRISTIANS FAILED THIS WOMAN AND HER FAMILY. It is not the government’s responsibility to take care of the needy, the poor, or the elderly; God called His Church to do that. When John sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the One or should they look elsewhere, Jesus sent them back with the instructions to tell John what they saw. Jesus knew John would recognize Him by His works, just as the world will know Him today by His works through His body, the Church. Actions not words will reveal Jesus to the world. It is our responsibility as the Church to be the love of God to the members of our community.
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CHRISTIANS FAILED THIS WOMAN AND HER FAMILY. It is not the government’s responsibility to take care of the needy, the poor, or the elderly; God called His Church to do that. When John sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the One or should they look elsewhere, Jesus sent them back with the instructions to tell John what they saw. Jesus knew John would recognize Him by His works, just as the world will know Him today by His works through His body, the Church. Actions not words will reveal Jesus to the world. It is our responsibility as the Church to be the love of God to the members of our community.
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I agree but unfortunately some of these same churches are too greedy and only interested in TAKING CARE of themselves and their own.
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So she moves from Ohio to the most drug ridden town in Texas. Then applies for food stamps. No mention of attempting employment so she could buy her own food, etc, etc. I wonder what the rest of the story is???????????
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I wonder what the rest of the story is???????????
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I say let’s not judge her without knowing.
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Let’s put the blame were it lies ladies on the mother.
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And just think y’all, just a week ago one of those dumb republican candidates said that people on food stamps are buying cars and taking fancy vacations. see how that was a lie?
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The Average Food stamp allowance in Texas is $294 a month. We have been reading the data for months that more people are falling into poverty, more children are going to bed hungry and more people need assistance. And yet we let politicians and candidates running for President blast the poor and use them as scapegoats. And what happens when they do that, their poll numbers go through the roof. We want our country to return to its Glory days, well perhaps we need to change how we treat the poor, children and our elderly.
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This is a sad!
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Just from reading this I believe she sufferd from more deeper issues than getting welfare and foodstamps.
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desperate people do desperate things
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18 page application for food stamps, wonder how long the application was for her to get the gun permit?
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18 page application for food stamps, wonder how long the application was for her to get the gun permit?
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Shawnia, I bet it wasn’t too hard for her to get that gun.
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Sad 😦 but I think there’s more to the story.
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Unfortunately, it is just starting. This type of thing will only get worse and will get worse before it gets better. It is not Obama’s fault, or Bush’s fault it goes all the way back to Reagan. I feel for this woman.
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This is very sad.
What is also sad is that so many people blame Obama and democrats but they forget what the economy was already like when Obama stepped in after 8 years of Bush, and what the economy was like before Bush stepped in and put the country so far into debt.
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So very sad
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This is a sad, a sad case, especially since she shot her kids.
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she was prbly suicidal anyway but damn did she have to shoot her kids?
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