Third suicide linked to school shootings

Father of victim in 2012 Sandy Hook attack found dead in Connecticut

The father of one of the 20 firstgrade students killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook School shooting was found dead of an apparent suicide Monday, the third suicide involving someone linked to a major U.S. school shooting in little more than a week.

The body of Jeremy Richman, 49, was found at Edmond Town Hall in Connecticut, where Richman had an office, Newtown police said. An autopsy was planned, but the death did not appear suspicious, police said.

Richman is the father of Avielle Richman and founder of the Avielle Foundation, dedicated to preventing violence and building compassion through brain research, community engagement and education.

“This is a heartbreaking event for the Richman family and the Newtown community as a whole,” police Lt. Aaron Bahamonde said. “The police department’s prayers are with the Richman family right now, and we ask that the family be given privacy.”

Just days earlier, the city of Parkland, Florida, was rocked by two apparent suicides involving survivors of a gunman’s rampage on Valentine’s Day 2018 that killed 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

On March 17, an alum of the Broward County school died of an apparent suicide. Sydney Aiello, 19, had lost a good friend to the Parkland carnage.

Then, on Saturday, the body of a male student at the Parkland school was found dead of an apparent suicide. The next day, parents of the school’s students and representatives from organizations throughout the county came together to discuss “what we can do to help students at MSD and children throughout the county cope with trauma and depression,” schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said.