Authorities said the fatal shot came during a family fight inside a Parker County home.
AZLE, TX — A 61-year-old Parker County man has been charged with murder after authorities said he shot and killed his adult daughter Sunday while trying to break up a fight between her and her mother inside an Azle home.
Charles Tod Brooks remained in the Parker County Jail this week on a $2 million bond after the death of 25-year-old Rebekah Bailey Brooks. The case has drawn attention because investigators said Brooks told them he got a handgun, loaded it and chambered a round before stepping into the fight. The Texas Rangers are involved in the investigation as authorities work to determine exactly how the gun fired and what led to the altercation.
Parker County sheriff’s deputies were called June 21 to a private residence in Azle, a city in northeast Parker County northwest of Fort Worth, after a 911 call reported a gunshot victim. Deputies found an adult woman with a gunshot wound to the chest and began lifesaving efforts. Fire and medical crews arrived and took over CPR, but Rebekah Brooks died at the scene. Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier said the office’s “thoughts and prayers” were with the victim’s family and loved ones. Investigators said they learned early in the case that her father was responsible for the fatal shot.
According to the sheriff’s office, statements gathered at the home showed that Rebekah Brooks and her mother had been involved in a physical altercation before the shooting. Sgt. Shane Cartwright, a public information officer for the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, said Charles Brooks admitted to investigators that he retrieved a handgun, loaded it and chambered a round before attempting to separate the two women. Brooks told investigators the gun fired while he was trying to intervene, striking his daughter in the chest. Authorities have not said what the mother and daughter were arguing about, and the precise sequence of events before the shot remains under investigation.
The shooting happened on Father’s Day, adding another layer of grief for those who knew the family. Rebekah Brooks was later identified by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. A friend, Brianna Tucker, told a Dallas-area television station that Brooks was a warm and welcoming person who often made others feel included. “She was such a happy person,” Tucker said. Tucker said Brooks leaves behind a young son. The sheriff’s office has not released a full public account of who else was inside the home at the time of the shooting or whether any prior calls had been made to the residence.
Brooks was arrested and booked into the Parker County Jail on a first-degree felony murder charge. His bond was set at $2 million by Parker County Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Kelvin Miles. Court records available early in the case did not show a detailed public docket for the felony case, and authorities had not announced a next court date. Investigators are expected to continue interviews and review evidence from the home, including the handgun and statements from people who were present. The Texas Rangers’ role gives the case an outside investigative layer as local deputies continue handling the criminal process.
The case centers on what investigators describe as a brief but deadly family confrontation inside a home in a mostly residential area of northeast Parker County. Azle sits along the Tarrant and Parker county line, with neighborhoods and rural pockets stretching west of Eagle Mountain Lake. Deputies said they found Brooks performing or attempting lifesaving efforts when they arrived, while first responders moved quickly to treat the gunshot wound. Those efforts did not save Rebekah Brooks. Investigators have not said whether they believe the gun was aimed intentionally, whether any safety mechanism was involved or whether additional forensic testing has been completed.
Authorities have framed the shooting as an active homicide investigation, not a closed case. The murder charge shows prosecutors and investigators believe the facts support serious criminal liability, even as Brooks’ reported account describes the firing as accidental during an intervention. In Texas, a murder case can move through several steps before trial, including formal charging decisions, bond review, grand jury presentation and arraignment. As of Wednesday, officials had not announced whether Brooks had retained an attorney, entered a plea or sought a bond reduction. The official record so far leaves several key questions unanswered, including what sparked the fight and how close each person was to the gun when it fired.
Friends described Rebekah Brooks as someone whose absence will be felt beyond the crime scene. Tucker said she and Brooks had known each other through photo shoots and creative work, and she remembered her friend as someone who tried to make others comfortable. “Once I heard how it happened, I mean, I was sick,” Tucker said. Her comments offered one of the first public glimpses of the woman behind the sheriff’s report. While the investigation focuses on statements, evidence and criminal procedure, those who knew Brooks have pointed to the child she leaves behind and the family now facing both grief and a murder case.
Brooks remained jailed Wednesday as investigators continued reviewing the Father’s Day shooting. The next major step is expected to be further investigative findings or a court filing that sets the case on a formal path in Parker County.
Author note: Last updated June 24, 2026.