4 Texas family members dead in apparent murder-suicide shooting, police say
Four Texas family members have died in an apparent murder-suicide shooting in a Dallas suburb just weeks after the family's 4-year-old daughter drowned.
On Monday morning, Allen police responded to a wellness check initiated by a family member who was locked out of the house, police Sgt. Jonathan Maness told USA TODAY.
When police officers entered the home, they found four people dead in a shooting from a handgun, Maness said.
Police believe the daughter’s previous death was a factor, Maness said. A suspect in the latest deaths has not been confirmed, he said.
The Islamic Association of Allen announced in a post the identities of the deceased family members: Farman Sherwani, father; Layla Sherwani, mother; Shaheen Sherwani, 12-year-old son; and Mateen Sherwani, 2-year-old son. Police confirmed the identities.
Murder-suicide: Texas leads the nation in 'family annihilation' cases, study finds
Family buried with deceased daughter
Before sunset Tuesday evening, the family members, who were Kurdish Iraqi, were buried at the Denton Muslim Cemetery, shortly after officials released their bodies, in accordance with their faith, Imam Abdur Rahman Bashir told USA TODAY. "When someone dies, they should quickly be buried and move on in the process in moving to their creator," he said. He added that the family were congregants of the Islamic Association.
In early August, the Sherwanis' daughter drowned in a pool at a family gathering. Her parents and brothers joined her at the same cemetery as their daughter.
“This is something that is really hard for us to even begin to imagine how to process,” Bashir told mourners at the family’s funeral prayer Tuesday evening.
The Islamic Association worked to help people grieving or those in crisis with counselors, sessions and suicide-prevention hotlines.
“We are all one ummah (community), we are all one body,” Bashir said. “It is our job to be there for each other wherever we can, whenever we can, however we can.”
Another murder-suicide in the community
Bashir said there was another murder-suicide of a family in the community. In 2021, an Allen family of six died after two brothers killed their parents, sister and grandmother, before killing themselves.
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Allen’s latest murder-suicide on Monday comes as the U.S. has seen a recent spate of "family annihilations," when someone kills at least two kinds of family members. Such killings typically occur about every five days. Texas leads the nation in family annihilations, according to a report published by the Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network.
On Monday, New York City Police found a family of four dead after the father, a building superintendent, was suspected of fatally stabbing his wife and two toddler sons before turning the knife on himself. On Sunday, sheriff’s deputies in Florida say a mother fatally shot her son and daughter and then killed herself. Earlier in August, an Ohio family of five and an Oklahoma City family of five also died in murder-suicide shootings.
In May, Allen also saw nine people die, including the white supremacist perpetrator, in a mass shooting at the city's outlet center. Monday's murder-suicide of the Sherwani family occurred about three miles from the mass shooting.
If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time day or night, or chat online.
Eduardo Cuevas covers health and breaking news for USA TODAY. He can be reached at EMCuevas1@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Police: Texas family of four dies in murder-suicide in Dallas suburb
