Washington man who fatally shot wife and pets sent tweets thanking NRA and Trump for making the crime 'super easy'
BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON: A Washington man has reportedly fatally shot his wife and two pets and confessed to the murder on Twitter in a bizarre tweet where he thanked the NRA.
The man, 56-year-old Kevin Heimsoth, is believed to have killed his 58-year-old wife, Lynn Heimsoth, her therapy dog Sukha and their pet cat at their condominium in Bellingham, Washington on Thursday, December 26, at 3 am.
Lynn was later identified as a Bellingham elementary school principal. Bellingham Public Schools identified Lynn, the principal at Sunnyland Elementary, as the victim of the Thursday morning shooting.
According to the Bellingham Herald, the man may have tweeted the National Rifle Association, President Donald Trump, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell confessing to the murder.
The account that reportedly belongs to Kevin Heimsoth replied to an NRA Christmas tweet, saying, "Guns don't kill people, people do. Guns just make it a lot easier. AR-15 makes it super easy."
He continued in the tweet: "I just killed my whole family, and I couldn't have done it without a gun! I'm too much of a coward, a knife would have been waaay too hard. So, thanks to everyone at the NRA."
The account tweeted the exact same message to Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell, in addition to tweeting to the NRA thanking McConnell and "everyone else" for making it possible.
"Moscow Mitch and everyone else for making this possible," the account says, also including the address where the shooting allegedly took place.
Kevin Heimsoth was identified as the shooter by the Whatcom Sherrif's Office. He was found in critical condition from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and is recovering at the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He is under guard by law enforcement.
Lynn's death has been officially ruled a homicide by the Whatcom County Medical Examiner, with the cause of death being a gunshot wound to the head. No one else has been injured in the shooting.
The Whatcom County Sherrif, Bill Elfo, has declined to comment, as this is still an ongoing investigation. The NRA is yet to respond, as well.
"We are heartbroken by this news," Bellingham Public Schools Superintendent Greg Baker said in a written statement, according to The Bellingham Herald.
"Her death is a profound loss to our Sunnyland community, our school district and to our extended community. Lynn was a passionate, equity-driven instructional leader. She loved kids to the core and always kept students’ needs at the center of her work," the statement said.
Heimsoth had been the principal at Sunnyland Elementary since July 2017. She previously served as the principal at Shoultes Elementary in Marysville for four years. She also worked for Bremerton, North Kitsap and South Kitsap school districts as an elementary teacher and instructional leader, Baker's statement said.