Brothers who killed family in murder-suicide left note about gun control and The Office finale

Teenager who described mental health struggles of himself and his brother wrote that ‘gun control in the US is a joke’

A 19-year-old man from Texas who allegedly killed his family with the help of his brother in a murder-suicide left a long note about gun control and the finale of comedy series “The Office”.

The brothers allegedly killed four members of their family before taking their own lives. The younger brother wrote that they easily acquired guns because gun control “is a joke,” and described losing control party by watching “The Office”.

The 12-page-long note by 19-year-old Farhan Towhid starts with “Hey everyone, I killed myself and my family,” and indicates that he committed the murders along with his 21-year-old brother Tanvir Towhid.

In the note, which first appeared on his Instagram page over the weekend, Farhan Towhid described binge-watching TV shows with his brother.

He wrote: “The first and most important show we watched was ‘The Office’”.

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He added that the show was one of “four very important issues I encountered throughout my life”.

When a family friend saw the note on social media, they called the police to warn them that Mr Towhid appeared to be suicidal. Police confirmed to CBS DFW that the note is linked to the family’s death.

The Washington Post reported that police made their way into the house around 1am on Monday and found six dead people: the two brothers and their father Towhidul Islam, 54, mother Iren Islam, 56, grandmother Altafun Nessa, 77, and Farhan’s 19-year-old twin sister, Farbin Towhid.

Mr Towhid complained in the note about how “The Office” “should’ve ended when [Steve Carell’s character] Michael left” because it was all downhill for the programme from thereon.

He added: “People say the finale makes up for it, which is a complete lie. Sure it was cute, but it doesn’t justify the last few s****y seasons we had to deal with.”

He said he had “a lot more I want to say but hey, life is short”.

“We kept watching until February 21, 2021. That’s the day my older brother came into my room with a proposition: if we can’t fix everything in a year, we’ll kill ourselves and our family,” he wrote.

But they quickly changed the waiting period to a month.

“We eventually realised we were just biding our time. Waiting a year was way too long. Why not wait a month?” Farhan Towhid added.

He wrote: “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.”

Police think the brothers carried out the plan on Saturday at their home in Allen, north of Dallas in the northeastern part of Texas.

Assuming that getting ahold of weapons would be the hardest part of their plan, they instead found that “gun control in the US is a joke”.

Farhan Towhid wrote: “All my brother had to do was go to the gun shop, say something about wanting a gun for home defence, sign some forms, and that was it.

“There was a question asking if he had any mental illnesses but – get this – he lied.

“He literally just said no. They didn’t ask for proof or if he was taking any medication (he was).”

“Thanks for making the process so easy,” he wrote.

Mr Towhid said both he and his brother were suffering from depression and that their father “worked his ass off to help”.

He wrote: “I’ve had depression since 9th grade (2016). Not the ‘damn, I failed my test’ depression everyone says they have, more like a ‘I only cut myself twice today, that’s better than usual,’” adding that his brother had it “much worse”.

He continued: “The dude is a f–ing genius but is too depressed and socially anxious to do anything with it.”

Mr Towhid described how he had dropped out of The University of Texas at Austin because of his mental illness. He had been studying computer science.

“I only cried, laughed, and talked to myself while punching a wall for hours,” adding that this “wasn’t so bad” compared to other times he “broke”.

“No matter what I do, I just can’t be happy,” he said, adding that “anyone who knew me knew I operate on pure logic. Every decision I make is based on a pros-cons list, including the one to kill my family”.

“I love my family. I genuinely do. And that’s exactly why I decided to kill them.

“If I killed myself, they would be miserable. They would spend the rest of their lives feeling guilt, despair, and a multitude of other adjectives that mean sad.

“Instead of having to deal with the aftermath of my suicide, I could just do them a favour and take them with me. None of us would ever have to feel sad ever again.”

He also wrote: “If I’m going to die, I might as well get some attention.”

Several members of the Bangladesh Association of North Texas gathered outside the home on Monday afternoon. One of them, Shawn Ahsan, told The Dallas Morning News that he had known the family for around 11 years and that he had been close with the father, 54-year-old Towhidul Islam.

Mr Ahsan said Mr Islam “was proud” of his three kids. He said he tried to call Mr Islam several times on Sunday and grew worried. He finally learned the news of their deaths from a friend on Monday morning.

“I said, ‘You gotta be kidding me’. I couldn’t breathe for 20 minutes, to be honest with you, I was crying in my office.”

Neighbour Sahnewaz Hossain told The Dallas Morning News that the mother, 56-year-old Iren Islam, “always talked about the boys, how they’re good in studies, how they’re getting into good schools with scholarships”.

She added: “They were a fun-loving, simple family.”

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offer support; you can speak to someone free of charge over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.