Two parents, three adult children, and their grandmother were found dead from gunshot wounds.
Trigger Warning: This article contains details of mental health issues and suicide that readers may find disturbing.
In a tragic case, two young Texas brothers have killed their entire family, police in Texas said. The six family members who died included a grandparent, two parents, and three children. Police say it appears to be a murder-suicide by the two boys. Allen police Sgt. Jon Felty told KRLD-AM that all six relatives were found dead with gunshot wounds. "It looks like two teenage sons entered into an agreement that they were going to commit suicide and that they were going to take their family members with them," Felty said.
Six family members have been killed in an apparent murder-suicide in suburban Dallas after two brothers made a suicide pact that included the deaths of the other relatives, police say. https://t.co/aK8NFI3mtT
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 6, 2021
The family belonged to a tight-knit Bangladeshi community. A family friend confirmed to KTVT that 19-year-old twins Farhan and Farbin Towhid, their older brother Tanvir, 21, and their parents Iren and Towhidul Islam died in the incident. The children's grandmother was also a victim, according to the outlet. "When I heard the news I couldn’t breathe for 20 to 30 minutes. How could it happen in a community like us? We’re so close and we visit each other and talk to each other, we have dinner and stuff, but inside the house… his children were unhappy for some reason and one thing led to another,” said family friend Shawn Ahsan. “We are heartbroken. I don’t know what else to say… ”
Police say that one of the brothers wrote a lengthy post on social media in which he said he and his brother planned to kill their family members and then themselves. https://t.co/LVJgOeX5xN
— WKYT (@WKYT) April 6, 2021
According to officials, Farhan Towhid linked a lengthy suicide note from his Instagram. The note detailed how he and his brother planned to kill their family and themselves if they could not “fix everything". He mentioned how he has battled depression since ninth grade and his older brother has been battling it too. Farhan Towhid said in February of this year, his older brother and he had made the proposition. “The plan was simple. We get two guns. I take one and shoot my sister and grandma, while my brother kills our parents with the other. Then we take ourselves out. If I killed just myself, they would be miserable,” he wrote. “I love my family. I genuinely do. And that’s exactly why I decided to kill them.”
According to Fox4, police had got a call for a welfare check at the home on Pine Bluff Drive around 1 a.m. on April 6 as one of Farhan’s friends was concerned he was suicidal. "The friend had seen the post that his friend made on Instagram, and that’s what made him call and say that he was concerned for his wellbeing," Felty explained. The long letter touched upon a number of topics from how he's been depressed since 2016, to cutting himself to how easy it was to get a gun and that gun control in the U.S was a joke.
Farhan’s sister, Farbin Towhid, had a full scholarship to NYU. Their grandmother, 77-year-old Altafun Nessa, was visiting from Bangladesh and was set to return home next month. "The mother-in-law was supposed to go back to Bangladesh next month," explained Quamrul Ahsan, with the Bangladesh Association of North Texas. "Get to know your family first. Talk to your kids and your children and see what they're up to," Ahsan said. "Talk to your neighbors so nothing like happens like this anymore." Faiza Rahman who was close friends with Farhan added, "I haven’t mended the two versions of him in my head yet. You know the one who I knew and was so close to and would talk to for like hours upon end about anything, and like the one that did this," she said. "Like this was supposed to be himself showing how much he loved them, and I know it doesn’t make sense to us."
This is absolutely heart breaking. Sam and I worked together at a restaurant while I was in college. He was such a sweet man and loving father. Absolutely devastated to see this news.
— Andrew H. Smith (@theandrewhsmith) April 5, 2021
The boys were former students of The University of Texas at Austin that issued a statement on their deaths, saying, “Today we received the extremely sad news about the deaths of two former students, Farhan Towhid and his brother Tanvir Towhid, and their family. The news is devastating to our university. We express our deepest sympathies to their extended family and friends.”
If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is, please contact The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433).
If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is, please contact The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433).
References:
https://www.audacy.com/krld/news/local/six-people-dead-as-part-of-murder-suicide-pact
https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2021/04/05/allen-murder-suicide-pact-social-media/
https://www.fox4news.com/news/6-dead-in-apparent-murder-suicide-in-allen
Cover image source (Representational): Getty Images/Photo by adamkaz
