Who were Farhan and Tanvir Towhid? Texas brothers, 19 and 21, gunned down 4 family members in murder-suicide
ALLEN, TEXAS: Two brothers gunned down their family before turning the gun on themselves in a murder-suicide, as per Monday reports. They shot four family members inside their home in Texas. The brothers, identified to be Farhan Towhid and Tanvir Towhid committed the horrific crime on Saturday as per Fox 4.
There were six victims in total — the two brothers, their parents, sister, and grandmother. The bodies were found by police who had conducted a wellness check on the Allen home at 1 am on Monday.
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Who were Farhan and Tanvir Towhid?
The New York Post reported that the brothers, who were from a Bangladeshi family, suffered from depression. As per CBS DFW, police were notified by a friend of Farhan's, 19, about a "rambling suicide note" the teenager had linked to from the social media platform Instagram. In the note, he details how he and his older brother Tanvir, 21, had "hatched" a plan back in February to kill themselves and their family. This was their resort if they could not "fix everything". The brothers had attended UT Austin, and Farhan's twin sister, Farbin Towhid, had a full scholarship to NYU.
Part of Farhan's note read, "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." He added, "If I killed just myself, they would be miserable. I love my family. I genuinely do. And that’s exactly why I decided to kill them.”
The brothers' parents were identified to be Towhidul Islam, 54, and Iren Islam, 56. Their grandmother Altafun Nessa, 77, was in the United States visiting from Bangladesh. She was reportedly to go back home next month.
Farhan's post also spoke of cutting himself, and how he was upset with how 'The Office' had ended. Reports reveal that the post also spoke of how easy it was for his brother to buy a gun and how he had been suffering from depression since grade nine, in 2016. He wrote, "The only reason for existence is happiness".
FOX reported that Quamrul Ahsan, with the Bangladesh Association of North Texas, said, "The mother-in-law was supposed to go back to Bangladesh next month." Allen Police Sgt. Jon Felty, added, "Two brothers entered into an agreement that they were going to complete suicide and from that, it went to where the entire family was taken with them." Speaking about the notification he had gotten from Farhan's friend Felty said, "The friend had seen the post that his friend made on Instagram, and that’s what made him call and say that he was concerned for his wellbeing."
Faiza Rahman, who was close friends with Farhan said, "I haven’t mended the two versions of him in my head yet. You know the one who I knew and was so close to and would talk to for like hours upon end about anything, and like the one that did this. Like this was supposed to be himself showing how much he loved them, and I know it doesn’t make sense to us." The publication reported that friends of the teenager knew that he used to cut himself. "Get to know your family first. Talk to your kids and your children and see what they're up to. Talk to your neighbors so nothing like happens like this anymore," said Ahsan.
@CBSDFWReporter Erin Jones tweeted about the murder-suicide writing, "In Allen — six members of the same family are dead. Police say it’s the result of an apparent murder-suicide. This morning, they responded to a welfare check at a home in the 1500 block of Pine Bluff Dr around 1 am." She further wrote in the thread, "The call came from a family friend who said someone at the home was suicidal. When officers arrived, they found six people dead with apparent gunshot wounds. They say two teen brothers are believed to be responsible for killing their parents, sister and grandmother."
The call came from a family friend who said someone at the home was suicidal. When officers arrived, they found six people dead w/apparent gunshot wounds. They say two teen brothers are believed to be responsible for killing their parents, sister and grandmother.
— Erin Jones (@erinjonesnews) April 5, 2021
She gave further updates about the identity of Farhan, and the suicide note writing that the brothers were suffering from depression since they were in high school. While they had "attempted" to get help, the medication, "at times it worked, at times it didn't". She added that the brothers thought that committing suicide and murder was the answer if they couldn't "fix their depression".
Jones also tweeted a picture of the family (seen below), writing, "The immediate family has been identified by a close family friend as 19-year-old twins Farhan and Farbin Towhid, older brother 21-year-old Tanvir Towhid and their parents — Iren and Towhidul Islam. The children’s grandmother is also a victim." She then tweeted out an update from Allan PD. The update identifies all six victims of the family, adding that the investigation will be continuing.
He writes in Feb. of this year, his brother — also battling with depression — proposed that if they can’t fix their depression, they commit suicide — killing their family as well because they would not be able to deal with the pain.
— Erin Jones (@erinjonesnews) April 5, 2021