The slayings of Jackie and Leonard Ragan have intensified fears that a recent, high-profile family murder may be inspiring copycat attacks across the country, local officials and violence-prevention experts say.

As per CBS News, police found the bodies of Jackie Ragan, 72, and Leonard Frank Ragan, 73, in the living room of their McKinney home on the morning of Dec. 30 after relatives requested a welfare check, authorities said.

Officers encountered the couple's son, 32-year-old Bryce Ragan, in a bedroom holding a firearm. After he allegedly refused commands to drop the weapon, officers shot him multiple times; he was hospitalized in stable condition.

Collin County prosecutors have charged Bryce Ragan with capital murder of multiple persons and three counts of aggravated assault of a public servant. The Texas Rangers are conducting a separate probe into the officer-involved shooting.

Officials have not released how the elder Ragans were killed. No officers were injured, and police say there is no ongoing threat to the public.

The killings came weeks after the widely publicized murders of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife in California, an incident that, according to RadarOnline, has prompted criminologists to warn about the risk of imitation when family annihilations dominate national headlines.

"When high-profile incidents involving family annihilation dominate headlines, it can lower the psychological barrier for others in crisis," a Texas-based violence-prevention researcher said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive analysis.

A former federal law enforcement official added that while such crimes remain rare, clusters or copycat events can follow intense media coverage.

Family members described shock and grief. Jackie Ragan's brother, David Foster, said on Facebook that he requested the welfare check after the couple could not be reached and that Bryce had struggled with mental health issues as an adult.

Foster wrote, "I am at such a loss," and said law enforcement had visited the home previously for welfare checks.

Neighbors called the normally quiet neighborhood stunned. Former city officials remembered Leonard Ragan, who served as McKinney city manager from 2008 to 2010, as a diligent public servant.

McKinney City Manager Paul Grimes extended condolences to the family and said the city could not comment further while the investigation is active.

Investigators urged anyone with information about the case to contact local authorities. The Collin County District Attorney's Office and the McKinney Police Department declined additional comment Wednesday.