Dallas brothers killed family then themselves in ‘murder-suicide plot’

Authorities in the US state of Texas have identified six people found dead in a suburban Dallas home in what police said was an apparent murder-suicide plot.

The Allen Police Department said investigators believe brothers Tanvir Towhid, 21, and Farhan Towhid, 19, made a pact to kill their parents, sister and grandmother before killing themselves.

The brothers are believed to have shot their relatives before turning the guns on themselves.

The bodies were found early on Monday by officers performing a welfare check, Sergeant Jon Felty said.

“It appears that the two brothers had entered into an agreement,” Sgt Felty added.

The victims were identified as Altafun Nessa, 77; Iren Islam, 56; Towhidul Islam, 54; and Farbin Towhid, 19.

Sgt Felty said the younger brother wrote a lengthy post on social media in which he said he and his brother had a plan to kill their family members and then themselves.

He also wrote that all of his decisions were based on weighing pros and cons, including the decision to kill his family.

The New York Post reported that in the rambling 12-page note initially linked to his Instagram page, Farhan Towhid said that he and his 21-year-old brother were united in manic depression and all-day TV watching sessions, including the US version of popular British comedy The Office.

“The first and most important show we watched was ‘The Office’,” Farhan wrote in the note that started, “Hey everyone, I killed myself and my family.”

The Steve Carrell comedy was one of “four very important issues I encountered throughout my life,” Farhan claimed in the online note police confirmed was linked to the gruesome bloodbath.

The paper reported that in the online post, the brothers before killing themselves said they easily got weapons because gun control is “a joke”.

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

Allen Police told TV news station CBS that they had no prior interaction with the family that would give any indication such a tragedy could be about to happen.

Several members of the Bangladesh Association of North Texas gathered near the home on Monday after news of the family’s death was released. Ahmad Hossain, who lives about a block away, told a newspaper that the family moved to the area about seven or eight years ago from New York.

Mr Hossain said Ms Nessa, the grandmother, was visiting the family from Bangladesh.

He said she was scheduled to return home last week but could not because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fazia Rahman, who graduated from Allen High School last year with Farhan and Farbin Towhid, said the family was welcoming and the parents “treated everyone like they were their own kids”.

“We don’t want this to be their family legacy,” she said. “They were such great people, they genuinely touched the lives of everyone who they came in contact with. They were good people who had bright futures ahead of them.”

Family friend Shawn Ahsan said: “When I heard the news I couldn’t breathe for 20 to 30 minutes. How could it happen in a community like us?”

TRAGIC EVENT: Farhan Towhid, above, wrote a rambling note relating to the apparent murdersuicide plot he carried out with his brother Tanvir that claimed the lives of their parents, sister and grandmother.