Cops Blame Brothers' Suicide Pact for Death of 6

One left behind rambling note that took issue with lax gun control, as well as 'The Office'

By Arden Dier, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 6, 2021 10:05 AM CDT
Updated Apr 6, 2021 11:25 AM CDT

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Alerted to a Suicidal Person, Cops Find 6 Bodies — Police stand at the scene in Allen, Texas, on Monday, where six people were found fatally shot in a home after police said two brothers made a plan to kill four family members and themselves. (Jason Janik/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

(Newser) – Texas police were responding to a report of a possible suicidal person at a home in suburban Dallas on Monday when they found the bodies of six family members that are thought to have been there since Saturday—the result of an apparent murder-suicide pact. Coverage:

Two brothers, ages 19 and 21, apparently "made an agreement to commit suicide and ended up taking the entire family with them," Allen Police Sgt. Jon Felty tells the Dallas Morning News. He says a person called police around 1am Monday, some time after the younger of the two brothers wrote about a pact on Instagram, describing himself as clinically depressed, per NBC News.
The online post said the brothers planned to shoot and kill their family members and then themselves, per KXAS. The New York Post describes the lengthy post as "rambling." For example, it recounted how the brothers watched a lot of The Office during the pandemic and complained that the show should have ended when Steve Carell left. But it veered into much darker topics, saying that both brothers suffered from severe depression and that it was a "joke" they were able to buy guns for their plot so easily.

The suspects are identified as 21-year-old Tanvir Towhid and 19-year-old Farhan Towhid. Their alleged victims include 19-year-old sister and Farhan's twin, Farbin Towhid; mother Iren Islam, 56; father Towhidul Islam, 54; and grandmother Altafun Nessa, 77, who was reportedly visiting from Bangladesh.
Originally from Bangladesh, the family is thought to have moved to the area from New York several years ago, per the Morning News. "They were good people" who "genuinely touched the lives of everyone who they came in contact with," a friend tells the outlet.
WFAA reports one of the brothers had recently dropped out of college. Felty says police had only made one visit to the family, in 2018, per NBC. "We have never had an incident like this in the 21 years that I have been here," he adds. "It's a tragedy that you just can't imagine."

(Read more murder-suicide stories.)