A 19-year-old from Alton is in jail. He is charged with shooting and killing his father, his mother, and his grandmother inside their own home.

Gaurav Chopra went before a judge Thursday morning at the Hidalgo County jail. The judge gave him no bond on the murder charges. That means Chopra stays locked up with no way to get out.

He faces two counts of capital murder. In Texas, capital murder can mean life in prison or the death penalty.

He also faces a charge of trying to kill a fourth person and a charge of running from police. On the running charge, his bond was set at $250,000.

The three people who died were Sweeta Ram, age 56, Kamlesh Rani, age 46, and Minder Kaur, age 73. They were Chopra's dad, mom, and grandma.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra said all three were shot in the head.

Ram owned a business in Palmview. Guerra said the community loved him. He helped people who needed it.

It happened Tuesday night at a home on the 3700 block of Roosevelt Avenue in Alton.

A man called 911 to report that his own brother, Chopra, had shot their family and fled. That man told police Chopra also fired at him once. The shot missed.

When cops got to the scene, Chopra was already driving away in a white Lexus. They chased him. The chase ended when he hit two other cars and flipped near 4 Mile Line Road and Glasscock Road. Police found a gun at the crash site.

Two of the victims were dead when police arrived. A third was rushed to the hospital. That person died the next day.

Chopra is a student at UT Rio Grande Valley. UTRGV said in a statement that the school is working with police. Since it is an active case, they said to direct all questions to law enforcement.

Alton Police Chief Mark Perez said police had never been called to that home before Tuesday night.

Guerra would not say why Chopra shot his family. He said Chopra made claims during the investigation that were "not accurate."

Detectives are still trying to figure out a motive. No other suspects are being looked at.

This is one of the worst crimes to hit the Valley in a long time. Three people from the same family were shot dead in their own home. The man charged is a college student with no past calls to police at that address.

Alton is a small city in Hidalgo County, just south of Mission and Palmview. People who knew the family say they were quiet and kept to themselves.

The father, Ram, was known in Palmview for being a good man who gave back to his neighbors. His death, along with the deaths of his wife and mother, has left the whole community shaken.

Capital murder charges mean the Hidalgo County District Attorney can go after the death penalty or push for a sentence of life with no chance of parole.

Neighbors said they had no warning anything was wrong. The family seemed normal. There were no signs of trouble at the home before that night.

The brother who made the 911 call has not been named by police. He is not a suspect. He was the one who told police what happened and helped them track Chopra down. Police say he was brave to make that call after being shot at.

People in Alton have been sharing the story on social media. Many said they went to school with Chopra or knew his father through his Palmview business. The Valle del Rio Grande has a tight community and a case like this hits hard. Many are asking the same question police are still trying to answer: why?

Chopra was not hurt in the crash. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution, then booked into jail.

For now, Chopra is still locked up at the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center. No trial date has been set. The case will move to the Hidalgo County DA's office for next steps.