Oxygen
Texas family allegedly killed by two brothers in tragic homicide-suicide, remembered as a fun, simple ‘family
Family members and friends of a family from Texas who were shot dead during an apparent murder of themselves over the weekend remember them as a ‘fun-loving, simple’ family known for their kindness, intellectual skill and kind nature. Brothers Farhan Towid, 19, and Tanvir Towhid, 21, are believed to have systematically shot their mother, father, sister and grandmother in the family’s Allen home before taking their own lives in what Allen Police Sr. John Felty described Oxygen.com as a “tragedy beyond description.” Allen police discovered the bodies of all six early Monday morning after a concerned friend called the department for a welfare checkup around 1 a.m., after seeing Farhan post a disturbing suicide note on Instagram acknowledging the murder. Police identified the victims as Towhidul Islam (54); Iren Islam, 56; Farbin Towhid, 19; and Altafun Nessa (77), along with the two brothers. Farbin and Farhan were twins. Farhan Towhid, Tanvir Towhid, Towhidul Islam, Iren Islam and Farbin Towhid. Photo: Facebook Shawn Ashan, a good friend of Towhidul Islam for about 11 years, told The Dallas Morning News he heard from a friend of the dead on Monday morning. “I said, ‘You have to joke with me,’ he told the newspaper. “I could not breathe for 20 minutes to be honest with you, I’m crying in my office.” Towhidul has always been ‘proud’ of his three children, Ashan said. Sahnewaz Hossain, who got to know Iren Islam in a religious class they took with her, also recalls the pride she had in her family. “The mother always talked about the boys, how they are good with studies, how they get into good schools with scholarships,” she said. “Every time I came home, I would tell my kids how well they were doing. They were a fun, simple family. Fazia Rahman studied with Farbin and Farhan at Allen High School last year. “Their parents were really the most beautiful people I’ve ever met in my life,” Rahman told The Dallas Morning News. “So friendly, caring. … They all treated themselves as if they were their own children. It would look like ‘Come in, we have food for you, come eat.’ Angelina Biswas, another classmate, remembers Farbin as sweet and friendly. ‘[She] was so bubbly, ”Biswas said. “Talking to her was like a light bulb going off all the time.” Farbin reportedly had a full scholarship to New York University. Friends said Nessa visited the Bangladeshi family and planned to return last week, but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Before moving to Texas, the family lived in New York, while Towhidul earned his master’s degree and worked several jobs to support his young family. Yuen Sang told The New York Post the family lived in her Queens apartment building 15 years ago. She described the family as “such good people” and said Towhidul was a “wonderful man”. ‘He’s a gentleman, very good man, and loves his family. Work very hard, “she said, describing how he worked as a baker when she knew him and how he was ‘so happy’ when he received his master’s degree. But although Sang remembered the young Farbin as ‘very bright’ and a ‘pretty’ girl “, she said Farhan even then had some problems and went to a special school. Farhan referred to his personal struggle in the long letter he posted on Instagram, describing how he failed the university, and has been cutting himself since the ninth time. degree and struggled with debilitating depression. “He’s had a few incidents lately that haven’t been good,” Felty said. According to the letter, the two brothers not only decided to take their own lives, but also to kill their families because they did not ‘They do not want their loved ones to live with the grief and sorrow they are likely to have after their deaths. do not experience. “If I were just killing myself, they would be miserable,” Farhan wrote according to local station KTVT. ‘I love my family I really do, and that’s exactly why I decided to kill them. But those who knew the family say they hope they are remembered more than their tragic last moments. “We do not want it to be their family heritage,” Rahman told The Dallas Morning News. ‘They were such wonderful people; really touched the lives of everyone they came in contact with … These were good people who had a bright future ahead of them. ”