Jeremy Richman, the father of a child who died in the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012, was found dead in what appears to be a suicide at a town hall in Newtown, Connecticut on Monday, the Hartford Courant reported.
“This is a heartbreaking event for the Richman family and the Newtown Community as a whole, the police department’s prayers are with the Richman family right now, and we ask that the family be given privacy in this most difficult time,” Lt. Aaron Bahamonde, a spokesman for the police department, told the Courant.
The chief medical examiner is investigating the cause of death, but police believe it was a suicide. Richman launched a foundation in honor of his daughter after her death. The foundation advocated for brain research into neurological signs that predispose people to violence. Richman had an office at the Edmond Town Hall where he was found deceased.
The death of Richman, the 49-year-old father of Sandy Hook victim Avielle Richman, is the third apparent suicide death in the past week where victims were tied to a past school shooting. Two Parkland student survivors of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School reportedly committed suicide in the past week.
Last Sunday, Parkland survivor Sydney Aiello reportedly committed suicide after recently being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Her parents told the Miami Herald she struggled with “survivor’s guilt.”
Another Parkland survivor, who has only been identified as a sophomore at MSD also died in an apparent suicide on Saturday. Authorities have not yet specifically tied his death to the school shooting that left 17 people dead last Valentine’s Day.
