Brothers Farhan and Tanvir Towhid and their four family members were all found dead inside their Allen, Texas home in what police say appears to be a murder-suicide pursued by the sons.
Two brothers from Texas allegedly killed four of their family members before pulling the trigger on themselves in a suspected murder-suicide plot, according to authorities. In a suicide note left behind by the brothers, they said they planned the suicidal pact, which included taking their families with them, according to reports.
Police were conducting a welfare check just before 1 a.m. April 5 when they discovered the bodies of six family members, including the two alleged suspects, brothers Farham Towid, 19, and Tanvir Towid, 21, according to CBS Dallas Ft. Worth. Among the family that was killed included their grandmother, mother and father, and sister who was bound for college next year on a full scholarship, the New York Post reported.
In the 12-page letter, the brothers also said they lied about their mental illness to buy the guns and also added bizarre references to the TV show "The Office," the outlet reported.
“Hey everyone. I killed myself and my family," the letter, posted on Instagram by Farhan Towhid, began. He said that his older brother proposed a plan that involved killing their family and then themselves.
"The plan was simple. We get two guns. I take one and shoot my sister and grandma, while my brother kills our parents and the other. Then we take ourselves out," he wrote.
"Gun control in the U.S. is a joke," it read. “All my brother had to do was go to the gun shop, say something about wanting a gun for home defense, sign some forms, and that was it."
The brothers said they were both clinically depressed and wanted to eliminate any grief on their family by killing them in addition to themselves.
“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.”
“The first and most important show we watched was ‘The Office’,” Farhan wrote in the note, CBS DFW reported. He said the television show was one of "four very important issues I encountered throughout my life."
Farhan wrote that the show should have ended when actor Steve Carell left.
“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**** seasons we had to deal with,” he wrote, saying 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 of the show.
The brothers were both former students at the University of Texas at Austin. In a statement, the university expressed its "deepest sympathies to their extended family and friends."
Police identified the victims as father and mother 54-year-old Towhidul Islam; 56-year-old Iren Islam; 77-year-old grandmother Altafun Nessa; 21-year-old Tanvir Towid; and 19-year-old twins Farhan Towid and sister Farbin Towid. The family was a part of a close Bangladeshi community.
