A Longview man got life in prison on Monday. He shot and killed a 16-year-old girl and her father at a park on Labor Day last year.

Christopher Wayne Hicks Jr., 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder. The hearing was in the 188th District Court in Gregg County. Judge Scott Novy ran the case.

The judge gave Hicks life in prison on the first count. He gave him 50 years on the second count.

Stacey Brownlee is the first assistant district attorney in Gregg County. She said the life term is for the girl's death. The 50 years is for her father's death. The two terms will run at the same time.

The girl was 16. Her father was 49.

The shooting took place on Sept. 1, 2025. It was Labor Day. The scene was Hugh Camp Memorial Park in Liberty City, in Gregg County in East Texas.

The Gregg County Sheriff's Office said Hicks was believed to be the girl's boyfriend.

Deputies found two cars parked in the park. The girl was dead in the passenger seat of a white Cadillac SUV. Her father lay dead outside the driver's side of a red Toyota car. Both had been shot, a sheriff's report said.

Cops found five shell casings at the scene. They also found a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun.

An off-duty police officer was at the park with her family. She heard the shots. She saw the shooter standing by the red Toyota. He was trying to fix a jammed gun, the report said. She walked up to take the gun from him and to help.

Hicks was shot too. Officials said his wounds looked like he did it to himself. He stayed in the hospital for more than two weeks. He was booked into the Gregg County Jail on Sept. 16, 2025.

"At this time, it is believed this was a targeted attack and not a random act of violence," Chief Deputy Craig Harrington said the day after the shooting.

The sheriff's office said two off-duty first responders were at the park. They ran over to help the victims.

Why it happened is still not clear. A sheriff's report gave no reason for the shooting.

At first, Hicks was charged with two counts of murder. Later, a Gregg County grand jury raised the charge. It indicted him for capital murder of more than one person. That charge can mean the death penalty or life in prison with no parole.

On Monday, Hicks took a deal with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to two lesser murder counts instead.

The judge asked Hicks many questions. He wanted to be sure Hicks understood the deal. Defense lawyer Brandt Thorson said his client was fully able to understand it. Under the deal, Hicks cannot appeal.

Under Texas law, a person with a life term must serve at least 30 years before parole is even possible. The judge gave Hicks credit for 392 days he has already spent in jail.

"It's up to the parole board when you will be released," Novy told Hicks. "It depends on the parole board, and from my experience, it depends on what you do or do not do in prison."

Family members of Hicks and of the victims sat on opposite sides of the courtroom. The judge warned that no outbursts would be allowed.

Brownlee read a letter from the girl's family out loud. The family wrote that part of their family will be missing forever.

"Our family will forever be incomplete," the letter read.

After Hicks left the courtroom in chains, Brownlee spoke about the deal.

"I think it does hopefully bring some closure for the family that they can watch the person who killed their loved ones plead guilty to it and say, 'I did it,' and not worry about years and years of appeals," she said. "Today is the day that justice came."